As we took Mandela to the beach that evening it was dark, with a little bit of light from
the streets here. The water was more high tide. First he didn't believe we owned the
beach, he heard the sound but he wanted to feel the water you know. And he tasted it,
take this the water, and just taste it to feel if it was really salt on the beach. And
we showed him the direction to Robben Island. We said "that is Robben Island". He first
think it was a big ship because it had its lights on and there were a few lights on on
that evening because at security points they had lights on. Otherwise it was dark.
1970s South Africa: amidst the turmoil of the apartheid regime, an unlikely friendship
was blossoming.
The first time when we drove Mandela in a car, it was in 1980/81. It was a Ford Cortina.
There was quite a lot of time we were taking him. I would say at least every second month.
I think Mandela enjoyed it in a way. But he was not secure when he was sitting maybe alone
for a few minutes because he was become nervous "Where is his warden, we must look after him"
because we didn't know what to expect, other people may attack him-he was afraid.
The lives of Nelson Mandela -- South Africa's most notorious political prisoner - and Christo
Brandt- his guard - were intertwined for more than 10 years. It became a long-lasting friendship:
a relationship that broke all the rules of the apartheid regime. The men's backgrounds
couldn't be any more different. Mandela - a lawyer with royal blood, and Brandt - a white
working class farmer's son.
I was eighteen years old when I started work on Robben Island, I never heard about the
name Nelson Mandela at all.
1978 was a harsh winter in Cape Town.
The first time I was on a boat-a big boat- was to Robben Island
Brandt had no idea what he was getting himself into.
I always heard about it, because there are big bad criminals on Robben Island, murderers.
So I when I got out there I was also a little bit nervous, when I got to Robben Island.
Brandt was immediately put to work in the so-called B-section: the wing reserved for
the prison's most dangerous inmates. By this point, Mandela had been locked up for 15 years.
Young Brandt went about his work with no idea of who the prisoners were.
The prisonors greet friendly, in some of the prison still standing up, made their beds,
ready for inspection. And they all greet friendly here. And I see old people. So I came back
to the sergeant, and they count the prisoners, and they open up to empty out the toilet pots
and clean up, and then later that day I said to the sergeant, 'what are these criminal
in for?' Because life, Nelson Mandela, life, only life. And he said 'that's the people
who tried to overthrow the country, those are the terrorists of the country.' And then
immediately I feel hatred towards these guys, because my friend died in the army and training
in 1977, we attended his funeral 3 months later after he was in training, killed on
the border. So I hated those people immediately, because they're the ones who killed my friend.
Mandela was condemned to life imprisonment and exiled to the island in 1964. This was
the last image the world got to see of him before his incarceration. When Christo Brandt
began his work as a prison guard, the outside world didn't know what Mandela looked like
anymore.
His name was well-known, but his face was not familiar to the people.
In fact, the regime was so sure he wouldn't be recognised that it allowed Mandela and
Brandt to visit a hospital in the heart of the city. From 1981, South Africa's public
enemy number one walked regularly through the city of Cape Town.
When we walked he would ask us questions about the new cars on the road, he was amazed. He
would always look at the cars and things and he said the people are busy, it's a very busy
street. He was afraid to walk over the street, 'is it ok', 'it's clear now' and we walked
straight over the street. But he didn't want to walk without us over the street, he was
afraid to just approach the street, we must lead him by the arm, I was like 'Come, Mandela'.
Back on the island, Mandela was subjected to a continued regime of humiliation and oppression.
But he did not react with anger. In his autobiography he wrote:
"The most important person in any prisoner's life is not the minister of justice, not the
commissioner of prisons, not even the head of the prison, but the warden in one's section."
"In general we treated the wardens as they treated us. Yet, being friendly with wardens
was not an easy proposition, for they generally found the idea of being courteous to a black
man abhorrent."
And Mandela said one day himself, he said when he asked officers he put in writing that
he wanted extra blankets at that time to sleep on the floor, the officer said 'Prisoners
are only allowed three blankets, extra blanket has not been approved.' And he sometimes asked
a normal warder who he was friendly with, who he had become friends with, asked her
'hey warder, it's very cold tonight, is there not an extra blanket?' And they said 'No,
sure' and goes get him one, 'just put it out tomorrow morning'. Tomorrow morning he first
puts the blanket out, and he says sometimes he gets more right with normal warders on
a lower rank than he gets with an officer. Because they understand, because they're up
close, we'd become very close.
In early 1980s, Mandela's health deteriorated. He developed problems with his lungs and prostate.
The regime in Pretoria began to worry that his death in prison might lead to a national
uprising. Christo Brandt continued to accompany Mandela to the hospital. They often came to
this hospital, just outside the Cape Town city centre.
It was those three windows, was the cells where they kept him. When they do hospital
visits, when they go for hospital operations, anything, they host in those rooms. That is
why the bars are on.
The surgeons were not deemed trustworthy; Brand was therefore present in the operating
room during Mandela's surgeries.
The thing was they were afraid that Mandela was not secure, that they could wake him up
in theatre, that the doctors could ask him questions and things, he can talk in theatre,
they don't want him to say anything to the doctors. He can greet them, but they dont
want him to communicate with the doctors, because the government didn't trust all the
doctors who worked on him.
Brandt was also under strict observation. His boss regularly turned up at the hospital.
It happened also in this hospital, there was a guy James Gregory, he was my superior, and
when Mandela went for operations he must be reported to Pretoria when Mandela's awake,
he talk to us, he'd communicate, he's fine. And that day he wanted to go, he was in a
hurry, and Mandela was being operated on, and Mandela didn't want to come around. He
still sleeping. And he said to him 'Kaffa we're going to kill you, the Whites are on
you', and he sweared him off. And Mandela grumbled and tried to think, and when he recovered
later, Gregory was not there. Then he asked me later, 'hey, I had a funny dream', and
I said 'What funny dream?', and he said he heard this voice, people calling him 'kaffa'
all day. And I said 'oh I didn't hear anything', because I couldn't tell him Gregory had done
that.
From 1984 onwards, the apartheid regime began to carefully reach out the ANC leaders. Speaking
directly with terrorists was out of the question. But President Botha wanted to know what Mandela
would do if granted a parole. The Secret Service contacted Christo Brandt; his relationship
with Mandela appeared useful. Brand was asked to approach Mandela with a few specific questions.
I walked in and I was bugged, and I showed him that I was bugged. That's the sign, before
I even asked him, I made a sign, and I showed him, and then I showed him again because he
didn't think. Then it clicked and he said me it's fine, I understand. And I asked him
certain questions, that same evening on television they repeated that type of things which I
asked and the response of Mandela, and their responses on Mandela's response. And I was
like, hey, that the question I asked Mandela, and he responded that, and PW Botha just talked
the opposite of what we asked him.
If Mandela were to say that he wanted constitutional rights ... 'He does not want it, he stated
it over and over again.'
Botha was a hardliner; if he had his way, Mandela would stay behind bars. But the increasing
violence across the country and economic sanctions from the international community forced the
regime to negotiate with the ANC. Meanwhile, the story of Nelson Mandela entered the spotlight
yet again. He could walk with his guards through Cape Town no more.
People wanted to know more about Mandela, they wanted Mandela to be released now, there
was more pressure on Mandela's release. And then we became more security-wise, taking
him in private cars, not in a government car, in government ambulance, in a buggy cart,
like a prisoner. He was in private clothing, also dressed not in prison uniform anymore.
We tried to make him feel he was part of the community, but not allowing people to recognise
him.
After almost 26 years in the Robben Island and Pollsmoore prisons, Christo Brandt escorted
his prisoner to his next home - the Victor Verster prison. Nelson Mandela serves the
last two years of his sentence in a villa formerly occupied by the prison director.
It was also very strange for him you know. When we walked one day in the kitchen, when
we walked him out there, he said 'why a TV in the kitchen?' And we said 'no, no it's
a microwave'. He didn't understand a microwave, we showed him how the thing worked, and how
to warm up your food. He started learning new equipment.
11 February 1990, the day of Mandela's release, went down in history. Crowds surrounded the
prison gate to get the first glimpse of the new leader. Helicopters hovered above the
villa, with millions waiting in suspense in front of their TVs.
Obviously the day before that he went to greet him and see him off, and tell him he must
keep strong, that we must keep in touch, and then he left.
Christo Brandt was Mandela's guard for 12 years. In 1992, Mandela became his president.
After his release the two men lost contact. But in 1995, the former prisoner called his
guard to offer him a job in the presidential office.
Tonight I want to welcome somebody here who has become like a father to me during those
years, his name is Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela.
The two friends worked happily together for years.