At which Johannesburg farm was Nelson Mandela’s underground headquarters raided in 1963?

Nelson Mandela’s underground headquarters was raided at Liliesleaf Farm in Rivonia, Johannesburg, in 1963.

Police raided Liliesleaf Farm on 11 July 1963 and arrested several senior figures connected with the African National Congress and its armed wing, Umkhonto we Sizwe. The property had served as a meeting place and a secret base for activists working against apartheid. Mandela had used the alias David Motsamayi while staying there before he was arrested elsewhere in 1962.

Documents and evidence found during the raid contributed to the Rivonia Trial. Mandela was already imprisoned when the raid occurred, but he was charged alongside people arrested at the farm. The prosecution presented the group’s activities as a conspiracy to overthrow the government through sabotage.

Liliesleaf was in Rivonia, a suburb north of Johannesburg, which is why the later court case became known as the Rivonia Trial. The farm is now a heritage and museum site. It should not be confused with Robben Island, where Mandela served much of his sentence.