Advice for Oscar Pistorius from Nelson Mandela’s prison guard

Oscar Pistorius should count himself lucky that he wasn’t born in the 40s or 50s, says Christo Brand.

The man who guarded Nelson Mandela for most of his 27 years in prison says Pistorius would never crack it under the conditions the former president endured.

“If this had happened to Oscar in the 60s, they would have tried him and hanged him by now,” Mr Brand told Yahoo South Africa in an exclusive interview from Robben Island.

“Now they’re taking a long time in the court to make sure everything is done correctly and fairly.”

Mr Brand, who started working as a prison guard on Robben Island when he was 18, has spent his entire career in South African prisons. He has a good idea of what awaits Pistorius if he’s found guilty on Thursday.

“If he gets a short sentence, he’ll be sent to a medium security prison and if he gets a long sentence he’ll be sent to a maximum security prison,” he said.

Pistorius would present himself at the prison on the date set by the judge. “They’ll book him in, take away his clothes and possessions and give him a uniform,” Mr Brand explained. Then he’d have his first meeting with the prison committee. “They’ll tell him his maximum release date and what facilities and privileges are available to him. For example, if he has aggression problems, they might put him in anger management classes or pair him with a psychologist,” said Mr Brand.

Pistorius would then meet with the same committee every six months for an assessment of his behaviour.

“The warder will give a report – has he kept his cell clean, has he been cooperative? The psychologist will give a report – has he been making progress? If he’s attending church every Sunday, his minister might also give a report. Based on these reports, the committee can either increase or decrease his privileges,” said Mr Brand. “For example, how much time he gets to exercise, how many visitors he can have and how many letters he can send.”

Good behaviour will also result in more money to spend on luxuries at the prison tuck shop.

Pistorius would be able to put up to R500 [US$50] into a prison account when he arrives. His friends and relatives can top up the account each month, but never by more than R500, according to Mr Brand. Prisoners are then given a debit card to use in the shop, where they can buy “luxuries” like phone cards, peanut butter or salt and pepper.

Pistorius might want to save his cash for food if Mr Brand’s description of the menu is accurate.

“The food nowadays is much better than it used to be,” he said. “In the mornings he will get mealie meal [corn porridge] or a sandwich if he prefers with coffee. For lunch he will have mealie meal again with a piece of meat and vegetables. For dinner, he can have soup and slice of bread and also a piece of fruit.”

Not exactly the protein shakes and calorie-rich meals that an athlete like Pistorius is used to. And keeping up his exercise regime won’t be easy either. Mr Brand says the prisoners get 30 minutes of exercise in the morning and 30 minutes in the afternoon.

“He might be able to apply for permission to exercise for longer,” Mr Brand said, although this would probably be treated as a privilege to be earned.

But the blades Oscar uses to run might not even be allowed in the prison. “If they put him in isolation in a cell on his own, maybe they would allow this. But I can’t see it happening because those blades can be used as tools or weapons.”

Mr Brand said it was more likely that Pistorius, if convicted, would be kept in the hospital ward with the other disabled prisoners. “It would be easier for him there. Much calmer.”

And the best advice for the Blade Runner from the man who guarded the world’s most famous prisoner?

“Nelson Mandela would always talk about the importance of studying and learning.

“The prisons back then were a brutal place. They would take Mandela out every day to work and he would spend half the day doing hard physical labour. They treated them like animals.

“But he would still come back from a day in the quarry and study every day from 5pm to 9pm.

“Today the conditions are far more humane. Oscar will be sleeping on a bed; Mandela had two mats on the floor.

“If I could speak to Oscar I would tell him he must try to make the best of it: try to get rid of his aggression, try to come out a better man. He mustn’t go in there and lay down and give up or try to harm himself.

“Take the punishment. Accept fate. But always look for the positives and use this opportunity for the best.”

Christo Brand’s book – Mandela: My Prisoner, My Friend – is available on Kalahari.com