James Kantor, a lawyer, is arrested for his involvement in Liliesleaf farm activities

Date: 21 Aug 1963
Updated: 30 Sep 2019

James Kantor, a lawyer, is arrested for his involvement in Liliesleaf farm activities

James Kantor was a lawyer who owned a law firm and employed his brother in-law Harold Wolpe. Unbeknownst to Kantor, Wolpe was an active member of uMkhonto we Sizwe (MK), the armed wing of the African National Congress (ANC). Though Kantor himself was secretly funding the armed struggle, he was unaware that Wolpe had purchased Liliesleaf Farm using the firm’s funds. The farm served as the headquarters of MK. When the police raided the farm in 1963 several leading members of MK were arrested. Kantor was arrested later on 21 August 1963 in his office. He was released later that year and immediately went into exile in London. He left the law profession and wrote about his experiences under the apartheid government. Kantor died of a heart attack in 1974.

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How we know this

01SAHO James Kantor [Online] Available at: www.sahistory.org.za [Accessed on 13 August 2013]
02UMKC The Accused: "The Rivonia 11" [online] Available at: https://law2.umkc.edu [Accessed on 13 August 2013]
03South Africa. Info Liliesleaf: one day back in '63 [online] Available at: www.southafrica.info [Accessed on 13 August 2013]

Last updated · 30 Sep 2019

Cite this entry

South African History Online. (2013, August 15). James Kantor, a lawyer, is arrested for his involvement in Liliesleaf farm activities. South African History Online. https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0096303

South African History Online (2013) 'James Kantor, a lawyer, is arrested for his involvement in Liliesleaf farm activities', South African History Online, 15 August. Available at: https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0096303 (Accessed: 23 July 2026).

South African History Online, James Kantor, a lawyer, is arrested for his involvement in Liliesleaf farm activities [website], https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0096303, (accessed 23 July 2026).

"James Kantor, a lawyer, is arrested for his involvement in Liliesleaf farm activities." South African History Online, 15 Aug. 2013, https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0096303. Accessed 23 July 2026.

South African History Online. "James Kantor, a lawyer, is arrested for his involvement in Liliesleaf farm activities." South African History Online. August 15, 2013. https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0096303.