[imagesource: Fowzia Veerasamy]

Nelson Mandela spent the first 18 of his 27 years in jail locked up at Robben Island Prison.

If you want to pay over the odds for something that could possibly have no value a few years down the line, a series of Mandela’s colourful Robben Island sketches are being sold as NFTs.

Excuse me while I right-click, hit ‘save’, and walk away a winner.

Speaking of Robben Island rip-offs, spare a thought for a group of 35 seniors and carers who visited the island on Wednesday.

22 members of the group were aged between 60 and 89, reports IOL, with group leader Fowzia Veerasamy saying they paid R250 each for a ticket.

It was not money well spent. After arriving via ferry, the group hopped onto buses, which is when Veerasamy says things went south.

“The bus was already idling and the driver did not check the door. He got in, wrote down something and continued on his phone.

“He pulled away at speed and one of the seniors told me she hoped he drove well, as he was already at speed,” she said.

Veerasamy said there were loud screams as people shouted for the driver to stop, as the doors were still open. The driver is alleged to have ignored the screams and continued on his journey.

Image: Fowzia Veerasamy

“As he continued driving the door ripped off. People got injured. The bus had no safety (belts).

“One of our seniors, 79-years-old, her skin was ripped off, her nail lifted, she has blue marks in her face and knee injury.

Veerasamy says the aftermath, with “blood everywhere” and people “laying on the floor” was a chaotic scene that “looked like a war zone”.

When the bus eventually came to a standstill, paramedics were on hand to assist while Robben Island staff snapped pictures of the ripped-off door.

Veerasamy said the tour still went ahead, despite the nightmare bus ride and a tour guide who managed to get dates and other facts wrong.

Veerasamy received calls on Thursday morning from the group, many who were in excruciating pain and headed to the doctor, while others were so traumatised, they had nightmares.

“It was the most horrible experience ever. The only pleasant thing about that tour was probably just the boat trip and the friendly paramedics.”

In response to questions posed by IOL, Robben Island Museum spokesperson Melany Kühn said the Museum is “aware of the incident and is currently investigating the matter”.

At least the ferry managed to find the island, which is an improvement on years gone by.

[source:iol]