An unknown bidder has forked out a cool 193,494 rand (27,484 dollars) in a charity auction for the honour of having tea with former South African president Nelson Mandela and fellow ANC stalwart, Albertina Sisulu, DPA quoted the Sunday Times as reporting today. The auction, conducted through online auction site eBay, raised 718,000 rand for various South Africa charities through the sale of time with top local and international personalities. Tea with Mandela was the top-grossing proposition, ahead of an African safari with billionaire British entrepreneur Richard Branson, which netted 150,654 rand. Lunch with another beloved South African anti-apartheid figure, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, was snapped up for 54,264 rand. In all 29 experiences were sold to raise money for the South African Children's Charity Trust and the Walter Sisulu Paediatric Cardiac Centre. Albertina Sisulu, the widow of deceased ANC leader Walter Sisulu, is a former anti-apartheid campaigner, highly respected in her own right.
