When Nelson Mandela was fighting against apartheid, he was accused of attempting to overthrow the government and was sent to jail on Robben Island as part of his 27-year jail term.
He stayed in a room so small and bare, with just a lidded metal bucket for a toilet and a narrow bed beside which a small table was placed. He was also exposed to hard labour and was not allowed to sing or read.
This small room is now up for bidding under the CEO Sleepout program, a charity initiative where CEOs pay millions of money to sleep in different places as a way of creating awareness about and donating money to homeless people.
The South Africa edition of the CEO Sleepout is focusing on Mandela’s centennial and is conducting sleepouts in various locations connected to the anti-apartheid icon, one of which is the Robben Island cell.
The CEO SleepOut thing is so brazenly in bad taste, there are no words pic.twitter.com/EmAZN0r9oM
— Victor Dlamini (@victordlamini) July 4, 2018
However, not so many people are impressed with the move. They state that it is disgusting and a thoughtless move considering the trouble that Mandela underwent.
Wow “stay in Mandelas cell”!? ngathi when Mandela was there he was living his best life, ag this is actually disgusting , they really didnt think this through? https://t.co/OsyRnn9JyL
— Ndodakazi ya Nozipho (@Zamozam) July 4, 2018
This is a joke surely?
You can now bid to have the ‘honour of spending the night inside Mandela’s cell on Robben Island’. https://t.co/wBcecoKxGG— James Styan (@jamesstyan) July 4, 2018
The #CEOSleepOut is possibly the best argument you’ll see for unilaterally seizing the wealth and the land, and the means of production, and handing them over to the people.
— mbappé ka sithayi (@comradesipho) July 4, 2018
Many are already questioning the longevity and impact of the program, which has claimed to have raised USD 2.7million in 2016.
The other site featured in the program include the Liliesleaf Farm, where the African National Congress held its activists in the 1960s.
