Annual CEO SleepOut heads to Robben Island

Nick Cowen

The fourth annual CEO SleepOut will take place on Robben Island this year and one participant will spend the night in the cell Nelson Mandela occupied.

The event is being held to commemorate the Mandela centennial and to raise money for various charity groups, the primary beneficiary being the Qunu Food Security Project in the Eastern Cape.

Event organisers are hoping to attract 67 global influencers, business CEOs and celebrities to spend the night in the cells on Robben Island. Each participant needs to pledge $100,000 (about R1.2 million)

The SleepOut organisers are also hoping to make more money by holding an auction leading up to the event, with the highest bidder winning the chance to spend the night in Cell 7, the cell in which Nelson Mandela spent his 18-year sentence on Robben Island.

Bidding for Madiba’s cell opened at $250 000 (nearly R3.5 million) and, at the time of writing, the top bid was $300 000 (around R4.1 million).

Alongside the CEO SleepOut on Robben Island, a second event will take place at Liliesleaf to remember the anniversary on the farm in 1963. Once again, an auction leading up to the event will be held.

“The highest bidder will spend the night in David Motsomai’s outside bedroom, which was a safe haven for Mandela during his political years,” the site reads.

Bidding has started at $250 000 and closes on Tuesday, July 10.