The Nkwe ya Selefera - Silver Leopard, post-nominal letters NS, was instituted by the President of the

Republic of South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

on 16 April 2003 and came into effect on 27 April 2003. It is South Africa's second highest military decoration for bravery.Presidential Warrant by the President of the Republic of South Africa for the Institution of Honours for Bravery in the South African National Defence Force, Gazette no. 25213 dated 25 July 2003.South African Medal Website - South African National Defence Force
(Accessed 1 May 2015)
(Accessed 28 April 2015)

The South African military

The Union Defence Forces (UDF) were established in 1912 and renamed the South African Defence Force (SADF) in 1958. On 27 April 1994, it was integrated with six other independent forces into the South African National Defence Force (SANDF).
(Accessed 30 April 2015)

Institution

The Nkwe ya Selefera - Silver Leopard, post-nominal letters NS, was instituted by the

President of South Africa The president of South Africa is the head of state and head of government of the Republic of South Africa. The president heads the executive branch of the Government of South Africa and is the commander-in-chief of the South African Nationa ...

on 16 April 2003 and came into effect on 27 April 2003. The bilingual title of the decoration is in

Sesotho Sotho () or Sesotho () or Southern Sotho is a Southern Bantu language of the Sotho–Tswana ("S.30") group, spoken primarily by the Basotho in Lesotho, where it is the national and official language; South Africa (particularly the Free Sta ...

and English. This decoration replaced the Honoris Crux (HC) as South Africa's second highest military decoration for bravery. It is the middle award of a set of three military decorations for bravery, along with the Nkwe ya Gauta - Golden Leopard and the Nkwe ya Boronse - Bronze Leopard.

Award criteria

The Nkwe ya Selefera - Silver Leopard can be awarded to all ranks of the SANDF and of any Auxiliary Service of the SANDF, and of any Armed Forces attached to or serving with or rendering any service to the SANDF, who have distinguished themselves by performing acts of conspicuous bravery on a single occasion or over a period of time during military operations. A Bar may be awarded for every subsequent action which would make recipients eligible for the award of the same decoration. The decoration and bar may be awarded posthumously. Guidelines consisting of appropriate phrases, which may be useful when writing a citation for the award of the Nkwe ya Selefera - Silver Leopard, have been published by the South African Defence Department.Nkwe ya Selefera (NS) (Bravery Award Silver)
/ref> * Deliberate but daring and conspicuous actions on a single occasion or over a period of time. * A dangerous, serious and/or critical situation. * A possibility of loss of own life and/or endangered own life for others. * Actions contributory to success. * Perseverance under trying circumstances.

Order of wear

The position of the Nkwe ya Selefera - Silver Leopard in the official military and national orders of precedence is as follows:Republic of South Africa Government Gazette Vol. 477, no. 27376, Pretoria, 11 March 2005, Ribbon Star for Bravery in Silver

;Official military order of precedence: * Preceded by the

Star for Bravery in Silver The Star for Bravery in Silver, post-nominal letters SBS, was instituted by the President of the Republic of South Africa in April 1996. It was awarded to veteran cadres of Umkhonto we Sizwe, the military wing of the African National Congress, ...

(SBS) of Umkhonto we Sizwe. * Succeeded by the

Pro Virtute Decoration The Pro Virtute Decoration, post-nominal letters PVD, is a military decoration for bravery which was instituted by the Republic of South Africa in 1987. It was awarded to officers of the South African Defence Force for distinguished conduct an ...

(PVD) of the

. ;Official national order of precedence: * Preceded by the Star for Bravery in Silver (SBS) of Umkhonto we Sizwe. * Succeeded by the Mendi Decoration for Bravery, Silver (MDS) of the Republic of South Africa.

Description

;Obverse The Nkwe ya Selefera - Silver Leopard is a five-armed

cross pattée A cross pattée, cross patty or cross paty, also known as a cross formy or cross formée (french: croix pattée, german: Tatzenkreuz), is a type of Christian cross with arms that are narrow at the centre, and often flared in a curve or straight ...

, struck in silver, with a diameter of 38 millimetres. The arms of the cross are bordered and the extremities embowed, with each pair of arms of the cross separated by three short rays. In the centre of the obverse is a light blue enamel roundel, 19 millimetres in diameter, with a silver leopard's head. ;Reverse The reverse bears, in relief, the Coat of arms of South Africa. The decoration is attached to a plain silver suspender, affixed to the upper arm of the decoration. The decoration number is stamped or engraved below the Coat of Arms. ;Ribbon The ribbon is 32 millimetres wide and sky blue, with 6 millimetres wide white edges. The blue represents the feathers of the

blue crane The blue crane (''Grus paradisea''), also known as the Stanley crane and the paradise crane, is the national bird of South Africa. The species is listed as Vulnerable by the IUCN. Description The blue crane is a tall, ground-dwelling bird, ...

, which Xhosa kings used to present to brave warriors. ;Bar The Bar for subsequent conferments of the Nkwe ya Selefera - Silver Leopard is 33 millimetres in length and 5 millimetres wide, struck in silver and embossed in the centre with a replica of the decoration. When only a ribbon bar is worn, a button replica of the decoration, 8 millimetres in diameter and struck in silver, is affixed to the ribbon bar. ;Insignia Award of the decoration for service in active military operations is indicated by distinguishing insignia, which indicate the arm of the service in which the recipient was serving at the time of the action for which the decoration was conferred. The insignia are struck in silver and is worn on the ribbon, above any bars which may have been awarded. * Crossed swords for the

South African Army The South African Army is the principal land warfare force of South Africa, a part of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF), along with the South African Air Force, South African Navy and South African Military Health Service. ...

. * An eagle for the

South African Air Force "Through hardships to the stars" , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = , equipment ...

. * An Anchor for the

South African Navy The South African Navy (SA Navy) is the naval warfare branch of the South African National Defence Force. The Navy is primarily engaged in maintaining a conventional military deterrent, participating in counter-piracy operations, fishery prot ...

. * The

Rod of Aesculapius In Greek mythology, the Rod of Asclepius (⚕; grc, Ράβδος του Ασκληπιού, , sometimes also spelled Asklepios), also known as the Staff of Aesculapius and as the asklepian, is a serpent-entwined rod wielded by the Greek god A ...

for the South African Military Health Service.

Recipients

In respect of those recipients about whom it is available, the actions they were cited for follow below the table, since inclusion in the table itself is impractical. Note 1: denotes a posthumous award.

Actions cited for

References

{{South African military decorations and medals Military decorations and medals of South Africa Courage awards 2003 establishments in South Africa Awards established in 2003