Okay, here's the story I promised. Back in 1998 I was in Joburg, South Africa. I really wanted to see Soweto when I was there, so I signed up for a township tour. These tours are widely varied. At the top, you've got professional tour guides who take large groups of people in on a bus, and they basically go on safari. The guide stands up and points out the sites to the passengers while driving around for about an hour and then departs without anyone having set foot outside the "safety" of the bus.
I opted for the other extreme. Through the hostel where I was staying, I found out about a local fellow who had lived his entire life in the Soweto and who took people in on informal overnight tours. This was a much smaller operation. He had a friend drive us in in his van, and then we traveled around on foot and stayed with his family.
I should emphasize that the people in Soweto did not resent these tours and were always very welcoming. Under apartheid, their community had been completely isolated from the rest of the world. The only outsiders who went in were the South African police, and news of the happenings there (as well as in the other townships) was suppressed. As a result, they were delighted when things finally opened up and people from all over the world started coming in and taking an interest in Soweto. If this hadn't been the case, I wouldn't have gone.
I got to meet many people and see lots of amazing things, including Nelson and Winnie Mandela's old home. This was where they were living when Nelson was first imprisoned in the early sixties. Winnie was forced to remain there under house arrest. She was guarded 24 hours a day by police officers stationed on an overlooking hill. She could only leave to use the outhouse in the backyard, and the police would often take pot shots at here when she had to use it after dark. She applied for permission to have an indoor bathroom put in, which was, of course, denied.
Once the political situation changed, and Nelson was released, she had an indoor bathroom installed in time for Nelson's return home. Soon after that, Nelson moved to Pretoria to be President, and Winnie moved to a much bigger house several blocks away. Her new house (which I got to see) had cameras mounted all over the exterior and no windows, or perhaps very small windows. I certainly don't blame her.
The Mandela's old house was turned into a museum full of pictures and awards that Mandela had received. The furniture was still there. Even Winnie's fruit-shaped fridge magnets remained on the refrigerator door. I found it amazing that they hadn't been stolen, especially given the nearly complete lack of supervision of people in the house. (I absolutely never steal, but that was one of the very few times in my life when I was seriously tempted.)
One of the people on the tour with me, a Peace Corps worker returning from Madagascar, asked the house caretaker if there was a bathroom she could use. I thought this was an extremely tacky request. We were in a very small house, and the only bathroom there was Nelson and Winnie's. It was, in fact, part of the exhibit. Amazingly, she was directed to use that very bathroom! Once she came out, I obviously had to go too, and I did. The following day, I went back to the museum so I could do it again. (You can see pictures of the house here.)