MADIBA (NELSON MANDELA) LIKED OXTAIL STEW TOO!

Last week, me dearest cousin-in-law, Junior Boyce, gifted me with an extraordinary

and thoughtful present, a book which was autographed for me. The book is entitled

“Doing Life with Mandela: My Prisoner, My Friend” by Christo Brand with Barbara

Jones. Now Junior and my cousin Lystra, had gone on a cruise to South Africa and

neighbouring countries last September. To think that he remembered me on the trip

was mind boggling. I decided that since I am not too much into the Carnival

festivities this year, I could better spend my time, cuddling up with this book over the

long weekend. After all, in 2008, my then ILO colleague, Ronald, gave me “Long

Road to Freedom”, Nelson Mandela’s famous autobiography for my birthday and I had not finished reading it. In addition, I had seen the late great leader in person,

when he visited Trinidad and Tobago, in April 2004, when he addressed a huge

crowd in the Queen Park Oval, thanks to the kindness of my then Director, Ms.

Strachan. It was tear jerking when President Mandela emerged from the car. During

Mandela’s visit, I also got to sing (as a member of the Lydian Singers) for Archbishop

Desmond Tutu who accompanied him.

From the first page, I was drawn to every word that was written. As I thumbed

through the pages, I was riveted to the book. It was about the friendship between

Nelson Mandela (Madiba is a term of “endearment”), who was then a prisoner and

undoubtedly a true authentic leader with his warder, Christo Brand. These two

gentlemen came from different backgrounds, different cultures, different worlds and

had different roles, yet they formed an unshakable bond with each other. Brand was

a young, white Afrikaans boy and Mandela was considered one of the most dangerous criminals in the country along with 7 other prisoners, known as the“Rivonia Trialists” under the Apartheid system.

I want to share the words of the late Maya Angelou who said:

“We all came from the Creator

Each human being streaming with glory”

So even though, ostensibly, their worlds should have collided because of their

distinctive realities, Mr. Brand saw Mandela as a “father” figure and Mandela saw

him as a representation of authority. We are all human souls. He always referred to

him as “Mr. Brand” , even when he became President. Mr. Brand did take gigantic

risks for Mr. Mandela because he said that he never saw him as a “hardened

criminal” but he tried to make his life easier in as many ways as he could. Two high

stakes risks were 1) allowing Mr. Mandela to see his granddaughter unbeknownst to

his wife Winnie (to keep out of danger) and 2) to pass along information about

Mandela to his mentor, Walter Sisula, and other prisoners.

The two men had an everlasting human connection because sometimes, Brand

himself felt imprisoned. The book explores the relationship of the two men in three

prisons: Robben Island, Pollsmoor and finally the Victor Verster Prison, from which

Mr. Mandela was finally freed after 27 and ½ years in prison. The book not only

deals with their friendship but also Mr. Mandela’s leadership. After all, Mr. Mandela

was the epitome of a true charismatic leader who had an “attitude of gratitude.” For

all of the kindness that Mr. Brand gave him, when he became won the first

democratic elections in South Africa, President Mandela reciprocated by organising

a scholarship for Mr. Brand’s son Riaan, which he did not accept but instead wanted

to go into diving. President Mandela spoke to Riaan about the scholarship and after

Riaan indicated his interest in diving, he was encouraged to pursue his dreams and

an opportunity was created for him. President Mandela also invited Mr. Brand to “call

Kathy and talk to him about coming to meet me”. He was offered a job in the

Constitutional Assembly as an administrative Clerk and Logistics Manager. In the

book, Brand talks about the opportunity that he got to meet several high profile

leaders as well as celebrities and activists including the Reverend Jesse Jackson

(who the world lost today) and this he described as “gratifying”. Brand was also

indebted to President Mandela for providing solace to he and his wife for the loss of

Riaan.

As much as the book is about the “Mandela Magic” and the “Mandela Legend”, it is

also about food! I would not want to describe it as a “culinary experience”, because

as a prisoner, there was nothing fancy about the food that President Mandela ate.

There are many references to food in the book. A maize meal porridge with no sugar

and salt with no bread and a cup of black coffee for breakfast. For lunch he had a

samp mealie meal made of corn with a meat Sauce or “something resembling meat”

and tea with powdered milk. For supper, he had porridge and soup with a watery

African drink made of maize and yeast. Mr. Mandela loved Oumu rusks which is a

type of biscuits. He was known for his sweet tooth and loved chocolate, chocolate

mousse, pizza and a famous fruit cake made by Mr. Brand’s wife. While in prison,

Mr. Mandela was obsessed with tending to a garden where he grew tomatoes,

onions, carrots, aubergines, spinach and even had a peach tree. He was also

known for making his own cottage cheese. There is also reference to the fact that

Mr. Brand also helped Mandela’s lawyers to smuggle food, such as samosas.

bananas and fruit.

The book also refers to the favourite foods of Mr. Mandela when he became

President. Anna Trapido penned the book, “Hunger for Freedom: The Story behind

the Food in the Life of Nelson Mandela”. Reference was also made about Xoliswa

Ndoyiya, who was President Mandela’s private chef for 22 years. In her book,

“Ukutya Kwasekhaya” (meaning home food in isiXhosa), she said that one of his

favorite meals was oxtail stew, which happens to be one of my favourites as well!

She said that when he did not get his “umsila wenkomo” (stewed oxtail), during the

week, he had caused to embarrass her in front of people.

So now I know, I do not only share the same birth month (2 days apart!) with one of

the greatest leaders the world has ever seen but also, we loved the same food!

Thank you so much Junior and Lystra. I will always be grateful for your generosity

and love!