ZA Heritage 01: Rivonia Trial Traditional Geocache
ZA Heritage 01: Rivonia Trial
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size:  (micro)
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LILIESLEAF, the historic farm where leading ANC activists were arrested in the 1960s, and later tried at the famous Rivonia Trial.
In 1963 it was a quiet 28-acre farm on the outskirts of Johannesburg, the secret headquarters of the African National Congress (ANC).
It was to be the last meeting at the secret headquarters of the banned African National Congress (ANC). The leadership had been worried for some time that police had learned of their hideout on a smallholding in Rivonia, 20 kilometres north of Johannesburg.
On the afternoon of 11 July, 1963, a dry-cleaning van drove up to the door. No-one had ordered dry cleaning. Armed policemen burst out . . . and from that moment, the word "Rivonia" became synonymous around the world with the silencing of black resistance in South Africa.
The key leaders of the armed wing of the banned ANC, including Nelson Mandela himself, had operated from its outhouses for two years. In those days, Rivonia consisted of a rural patchwork of smallholdings, riding schools and farms, with few tarred roads.
The Liliesleaf building still stands, just one more bungalow-style house in a quiet side street, but the grounds have been sub-divided and sold off. Now there are plans to set up a Liliesleaf Trust, restore the area, and perhaps even turn it into a conference retreat for international negotiations, along the lines of Camp David, the US retreat.
The outbuildings that belonged to the farm are now part of adjacent properties but these will be purchased in the coming months to restore the farm to look as it did when the ANC bought it in 1961 to be an underground base for the newly formed Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK), the armed wing of the ANC.
Nelson Mandela moved into the house in October 1961, while evading security police. He masqueraded as the gardener and cook, under the alias of David Motsamayi.
In December 1961, artist and designer Arthur Goldreich and his family moved in as the "legitimate" white owners of the house and as a cover for the covert MK operations. Goldreich was unknown to the security police, but he was one of the first members of MK. While Goldreich lived in the main house, the other ANC members lived in the outbuildings, to allay suspicions concerning blacks living in the "white" house.
The ANC operated from Liliesleaf Farm for two years before the security police found out about the location from police agent Gerard Ludi, who had infiltrated ANC structures.
When the police raided the farm they found a dozen men around a table discussing a document. That document was the outline of Operation Mayibuye, the MK plan for guerrilla warfare in South Africa. The men in the room included Goldreich, Raymond Mhlaba, Lionel Bernstein, Walter Sisulu, Bob Hepple, Andrew Mlangeni, Ahmed Kathrada and Dennis Goldberg. Mandela himself was absent - he was serving a five-year sentence on Robben Island for inciting workers to strike and for leaving the country without a passport.
In his book, Mandela says: "In one fell swoop, the police had captured the entire high command of Umkhonto we Sizwe."
On 12 June 1964 sentence was handed down by Judge de Wet. "I have decided not to impose the supreme penalty which in a case like this would usually be the proper penalty for the crime, but consistent with my duty that is the only leniency which I can show. The sentence in the case of all the accused will be one of life imprisonment."
Seven men were taken to Robben Island - Sisulu, Mhlaba, Govan Mbeki (Thabo Mbeki’s father), Kathrada, Elias Motsoaledi, Mlangeni and Mandela. Bernstein, although he helped draft the MK constitution, was found not guilty and discharged. Goldberg was the only white sentenced to life imprisonment, for which he was sent to Pretoria Central Prison. Most of the men served between 22 and 27 years; Mandela was the last one released, in February 1990.
The Cache:
You will park opposite Liliesleaf farm. It's obviously quite different from the old days, but try and pay the museum a visit and turn back the clock.
The cache is only 30m from the parking. The challenge is in finding it and therefore clues are minimal. Bring own pen/pencil.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Orngra ol cncre