Doing Life with Mandela: My Prisoner, My Friend

· Christo Brand was Mandela's prison warder on Robben Island for many years and he has a fabulous story to tell of their extraordinary and close friendship that continued from beyond the prison cell into Parliament.

· He was a white Afrikaans farm boy aged 18 when he was sent to Robben Island as a raw recruit from the prison service. He didn't even know who Mandela was. They told him he was a dangerous terrorist trying to bring down South Africa, so he hated him at first. But soon he saw the humanity, wisdom and humility of Mandela.

· One of Christo's jobs was to censor all Mandela's letters in and out of prison so he had a unique insight into the pain of his separation from Winnie. One day Winnie came for a visit – she was only allowed one visit of 30 minutes every three months.

· This day it was raining and windy. Because she was black, Winnie had to sit on the top deck exposed to the weather. She wrapped herself in a big blanket. When she got to the island they found she had smuggled her baby grandson with her to show Mandela. But she wasn't allowed to take the baby in to see Mandela. But when it was time to go Christo asked her if he could hold the baby. He took the baby out of sight and quickly put him in Mandela's arms while all the other prisoners had gone. Mandela held the child for only 30 seconds but never forgot the kindness.

· Christo went with Mandela to the mainland as apartheid began to dismantle and Mandela was involved in political talks. Christo stayed with him right to the day he was released.

· Once he was President, Mandela invited him to Parliament. He found him a job in the archives department.

· There are many anecdotes Christo's never talked about before. Mandela asked to see him a year ago when his light was fading and he knew he would die soon. He wanted to say goodbye. Of all the people important in his life – world leaders, showbiz stars, fellow anti-apartheid heroes – it was his long-time prison warder he wanted to see.