Hein Bezuidenhout

Bezuidenhout was involved in the protection of the presidents of South Africa since 1984, including Nelson Mandela

I remember when Jill Daniels, the youngest member of our unit, was turning twenty-one and Madiba wanted to buy her something for her birthday. “Do we still have some of those books of mine in stock?” he asked, referring to Long Walk to Freedom. I said we did not, so he asked how much they cost as he wanted us to take him to the bookshop to buy a copy. Knowing what chaos such a trip to the Gardens Centre, Cape Town, would cause, I stalled and went on a frantic search for a crisp copy of Long Walk to Freedom. Sergeant Symington, a policeman at Tuynhuys, just happened to have a new copy that he wanted Madiba to sign. It still had the price sticker on – R250. I rushed back to the president to announce my find. Madiba was very perturbed when I informed him of the price. “What? I told them that this book should never cost more than R150!”