A R75m boutique hotel is to be developed on the premises of Liliesleaf in Rivonia, one of South Africa's most important heritage sites from the apartheid era.

At one time Liliesleaf was former president Nelson Mandela's safe house. It was the head office of Umkhonto weSizwe, where various ANC leaders were arrested in 1963.

A memorandum of understanding was recently signed between the Mantis Group and the Liliesleaf Trust to develop, manage and market the site.

The trust was launched by former president Thabo Mbeki in 2001 to preserve the property for future generations.

Hotel magnate Adrian Gardiner, CEO of the Mantis Group, says the hotel will target business, tourism, political and government markets. When it opens its doors in 2011, the aim is to charge between R2 000 and R4 000 a night.

In 1961 Liliesleaf was bought by Navain, a fronting company for the SACP, and it subsequently became the secret headquarters of the ANC's military wing, Umkhonto weSizwe.

A security police raid on Liliesleaf in 1963 culminated in the Rivonia hearing, in which Mandela and others were sentenced to lifelong imprisonment.

- Sake24.com