Talk Radio 702 and Liliesleaf will be marking the 50 Anniversary of the Rivonia Raid with a real-time Twitter feed, @RivoniaRaid, that will update followers on significant events that led to the raid. On 11 July 1963 the Apartheid Government Police swooped on a farm in Rivonia, which was then on the outskirts of Johannesburg. The farm, called Liliesleaf, had been the nerve centre for the ANC underground and the Police interrupted a meeting on Operation Mayibuye, which was the plan to overthrow the Apartheid government.
Through the arrests and evidence found at Liliesleaf on the 11 July, 12 ANC stalwarts, including Nelson Mandela, Walter Sisulu, Ahmed Kathrada and Govan Mbeki were convicted through the infamous Rivonia Trial and most were sentenced to life imprisonment on Robben Island.
@RivoniaRaid started tweeting at 12h00 on 2 July. On this day in 1963, ANC leadership instructed Ahmed Kathrada to leave his home and move to a safe house in World’s View owned by the Kreel family, who were ANC supporters. The police had been clamping down on ANC members and Kathrada was also disguised as a Portuguese national. Over the coming days, the story of the ANC leaders as well as well as the Police officers who were tracking them down, will unfold via 140 character tweets, with links to photographs and supporting material from the Liliesleaf archives.
The Twitter timeline will ramp up on the 11 July, when the Jenny Crwys-Williams show will broadcast from Liliesleaf farm, to get more stories from the raid and the subsequent trial. The show will include a real-time re-enactment of the raid itself, which allegedly started at 15h00. From the 12 July, the Twitter feed will shift focus to the Rivonia Trial.
Follow @RivoniaRaid for all the details
