Liliesleaf Farm is a location in northern
Johannesburg
Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a Megacity#List of megacities, megacity, and is List of urban areas by p ...
,
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring coun ...
, which is most noted for its use as a safe house for
African National Congress
The African National Congress (ANC) is a social-democratic political party in South Africa. A liberation movement known for its opposition to apartheid, it has governed the country since 1994, when the first post-apartheid election install ...
activists in the 1960s. In 1963, the South African police raided the farm, arresting more than a dozen ANC leaders and activists, who were then tried and prosecuted during the
Rivonia Trial
The Rivonia Trial took place in South Africa between 9 October 1963 and 12 June 1964, and led to the imprisonment of Nelson Mandela and the others among the accused who were convicted of sabotage and sentenced to life at the Palace of Justic ...
. Since the end of apartheid, the area has been turned into a museum and heritage site.
History
The farmhouse is located in
Rivonia
Rivonia is a suburb of Johannesburg, South Africa in the Sandton area. It is located in Region E of the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality. Rivonia is one of the most affluent residential and business suburbs of Johannesburg, and re ...
, a suburb outside Johannesburg. In 1961, the property was purchased by
Arthur Goldreich
Arthur Goldreich (25 December 1929 – 24 May 2011) was a South African-Israeli abstract painter and a key figure in the anti-apartheid movement in the country of his birth and a critic of the form of Zionism practiced in Israel.
Early life
Gold ...
and
Harold Wolpe to use as the headquarters for the underground
South African Communist Party
The South African Communist Party (SACP) is a communist party in South Africa. It was founded in 1921 as the Communist Party of South Africa (CPSA), tactically dissolved itself in 1950 in the face of being declared illegal by the governing N ...
and a safe house for political fugitives. African National Congress leader
Nelson Mandela
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (; ; 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African anti-apartheid activist who served as the first president of South Africa from 1994 to 1999. He was the country's first black head of state and the ...
needed a safe place from which to operate, and lived there under the assumed name of David Motsamayi, a farmer hired to work on the farm.
On 11 July 1963, security
police raid
A police raid is an unexpected visit by police or other law-enforcement officers with the aim of using the element of surprise in order to seize evidence or arrest suspects believed to be likely to hide evidence, resist arrest, be politicall ...
ed the farm and arrested 19 members of the underground, later charging and prosecuting a number of them with sabotage. The police had learned of the location from two sources: George Mellis, who lived nearby in the Rivonia Caravan Park, noticed a number of cars going in and out of the farm area and told his family; and a police informant in the
uMkhonto we Sizwe, the ANC's armed wing. The activists had been meeting in the thatched room and were surprised by the raid. They had already decided beforehand to move to another safe house, with 11 July being their last meeting at Liliesleaf.
Nelson Mandela was already in prison, serving a sentence of five years for leaving the country illegally, having been arrested the previous year. The police found documents during the raid that had been hidden in a coal bunker incriminating Mandela. As a result, he was charged and brought to trial with the others.
The trial, which ran from October 1963 to June 1964, ended with Mandela and seven others found guilty and sentenced to life imprisonment.
After apartheid
The farmhouse at Liliesleaf Farm has now been surrounded by the gradual spread of Johannesburg's suburbs, but the historic site has been reopened to visitors. The buildings have been restored to their earlier condition, and visual and audio-visual displays recreate the dramatic events leading up to the police raid, and the raid itself.
The farm is referred to either as "Liliesleaf" or "Lilliesleaf", with the former spelling used at the site itself.
References
Further reading
Liliesleaf Farm Trust
External links
Liliesleaf
{{Use dmy dates, date=January 2012
Opposition to apartheid in South Africa
Apartheid museums
Defunct museums
Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the arts and cultural heritage