Kruger employees honoured at award ceremony at Nombolo Mdluli Conference Centre

Employees of the Kruger National Park (KNP) were honoured for exceptional performance in their duties on Friday at the annual KNP Achievements Awards held at the Nombolo Mdluli Conference Centre in the iconic national park.

by Staff Reporter | Nov 10, 2025 | 0 comments

SANParks spokesperson JP Louw says these awards are part of the KNP management initiative to acknowledge employees who go beyond the call of duty daily. Employees are rewarded based on merit and their contributions towards the organisation’s success.

Albert Mkansi, Vusi Lubisi, Katekani Sibuyi and Nicolus Mathebula received awards for bravery.

This year’s awards come against the background of SANParks’ impressive achievements in its operational and financial performance for the 2024/25 financial year, reporting a 10%-increase in revenue from R3,67 billion to R4,1 billion in 2024/25.

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SANParks also received an unqualified audit for the past year, affirming the strength of its financial governance and management practices.

Among the award recipients were those outstanding in the workplace, others gave outstanding service to clients, some worked well as a team, while some showed a great deal of creativity. Some of the winners have worked tirelessly in the organisation for over three decades. There were also employees who showed bravery and rescued their colleagues in the face of imminent danger, showing a great deal of determination.

Oupa Manzin, Richard Vukeya, Jairos Chiloane and James Mdluli received Lifetime Contribution Awards.

Four staff members – Albert Mkansi, Vusi Lubisi, Katekani Sibuyi and Nicolus Mathebula – stole the limelight for scooping the bravery award in recognition of placing their own lives in danger and confronting armed suspected poachers as well as dangerous animals. The bravery award, also known as the Kruger Cross, is the highest accolade in the KNP and is awarded to a candidate who has performed an act of exceptional bravery to save a colleague, tourist or any person or animal.

*Pretoriuskop Section received the award for Ranger Post of the Year.*

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Management also bestowed Lifetime Contribution Awards to four long serving employees – Oupa Manzini (28 years’ service), Richard Vukeya (31 years’ service), Jairos Chiloane (34 years’ service), and James Mdluli (35 years’ service).

“All the finalists went through a selection phase based on a set of stringent criteria. Apart from their extra-mile achievements, individual nominees had to possess qualities such as independent and progressive thinking, initiative and creativity, a positive approach to work, leadership and ability to interact at all levels regardless of training and skills,” Louw says.

*The KNP malaria-spraying team was honoured for its special team effort.*

The awards for facilities were judged on areas such as overall performance, implementation of various systems, financial performance and management, guest complaints and compliments, compliance to policies and general neatness of the facility.

And the winners are:

Excellent performance in the workplace