A slice of life for Mandela
One of the best-kept secrets of President Nelson Mandela’s imprisonment was how his jailer, Christo Brand, smuggled in slices of whole wheat bread so that the elder statesman could enjoy a simple snack. The details only emerged about 18 months ago during
ROBBEN Island prisoner 46664, also known as Nelson Mandela, enjoyed a whole wheat bread sour milk sandwich daily without the ruthless apartheid regime knowing about it.
If they only found out, the consequences would have been too ghastly to contemplate. They would probably have charged him with treason.
Such luxuries as whole wheat bread was not for prisoners. It was expensive and was regarded in the greater South Africa as a speciality, which white people enjoyed.
Equally in trouble would have been the smuggler who brought in the slice so that the man who would be president could enjoy his favourite meal.
The man who smuggled the bread into the maximumsecurity prison, slice by slice, was Christo Brand – who was hand-picked to watch the man who they described as the most dangerous Communist outside the Soviet Union.
Mandela ate the sour milk sandwich with relish and after his release, despite the best dishes being available to him, he would still go into the family kitchen to make his soon-to-be favourite savoury.
His penchant for such a simple taste and the awesome chances taken by the two men over such a long period of time, was one of the most closely guarded secrets until now.
The story came out only after the elder statesman had died, when I met Brand in Cape Town. I was in the Mother City and it was purely by chance while we were having a conversation that he mentioned Mandela’s special taste.
Once he mentioned that, I was taken by surprise and asked him to tell me all. I was enthralled by such a humane experience by two men.
One white and the other black. One was employed by the apartheid regime. This very ruthless government persecuted the other.
“It happened one day when I did not feel like eating my sandwiches. I decided to abandon them in the prison. I did not know that Mandela had seen me dump my lunch.
“He came up to me and asked what I had just thrown away, and when I told him that it was my whole wheat bread sandwiches, he looked startled.”
“What is whole wheat bread?” he asked Brand.
“I explained to him the ingredients and then he asked me whether he could have a look. What harm could that have done? I brought it over to him. He looked at it closely and then asked whether he could have it,” said Mr Brand.
Mandela carefully examined the slice and then asked whether he could keep it.
“I could not refuse such a simple request, even though it could be that I was breaking a rule. The seeds and the rough texture of the bread seemed to have caught his attention.
“He closely examined the texture and noted that it was rich in roughage, and the freshness as he gingerly held it in his hands.
“This bread is not available in prisons and it is regarded as a luxury, even though it is far more nutritious than the white loaf.”
Mandela cleared the butter, cheese, lettuce and tomatoes and kept the bread, which he took to his cell. The diet in prison was spartan.
No matter how humble, this slice was a treat.
Brand asked the famous prisoner what he was going to do with it. It was then that Mandela explained that he received a small ration of milk every now and then.
“He kept it in a dark place in his cell until it fermented and became what he called sour milk. He said that it was a traditional meal, which he enjoyed very much. Now he was going to try it with whole wheat bread and make his own sandwich,” said Brand.
A few days later, the men met again and Mandela told him that the sandwich was such a treat.
From that day on, the greatest smuggling episode in the history of Robben Island started, one slice at a time.
If he was caught, he could have faced a lengthy jail sentence and it could have been the end of his career and his marriage.
Not even his wife knew that he was taking an extra slice of whole wheat bread in his lunch box. Even if she did and did not mind, if her husband was caught, she could also be charged and probably sent to prison for a long time.
“I had to keep it a secret and only Mandela knew about the smuggling of the whole wheat bread,” said Brand.
It must have been an act of providence that the authorities did not find out. If they did, they would have made a show trial to make examples of both men to drive fear into the hearts of the general population.
Now, for the first time, Brand spoke about what was the closet kept secret in a maximum prison on an Island off Cape Town where everything was checked and re-checked by hawk-eyed prison warders, many of whom were ruthless.
However, sour milk has always been an integral part of the diet for Africans and Indians. It was known by the traditional name of “maas”.
It was Mandela’s special treat and showed his simplicity and links to his past.
This probably explains his taste for a sour milk sandwich, It could have been an integral part of his diet of his boyhood days.
In modern day South Africa, “maas” continues to be part of the daily sustenance for many people, right across the economic spectrum. It is used as a topping for mealie porridge and as a side dish for many traditional recipes.
In fact, it is now marketed in the most sophisticated supermarkets and health shops.
During the apartheid days, it was mainly available in townships where Indians and Africans lived.
Soon after Mandela’s death, his daughter Zindzi was being interviewed by a radio station when she mentioned that her father loved sour milk sandwiches.
She said that every now and then, he would spread sour milk over a slice of whole wheat bread and munch on it.
“It was his favourite food.”
This is an extract from Kevin Joseph’s book, Mandela in Focus which is due for worldwide release later this year.