The Nkwe ya Gauta - Golden Leopard, post-nominal letters NG, is a military decoration for bravery which was instituted in 2003, to replace the

Honoris Crux Gold The Honoris Crux Gold (Gold Cross of Honour), post-nominal letters HCG, is a South African military decoration for bravery which was instituted in 1975. It was awarded to members of the South African Defence Force for outstanding acts of brav ...

(HCG). It is South Africa's 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 Medals Website - South African National Defence Force
(Accessed 1 May 2015)
(Accessed 2 May 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 Gauta - Golden Leopard, post-nominal letters NG, 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. 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

(HCG) as South Africa's highest military decoration for bravery. It is the senior of a set of three military decorations for bravery, along with the Nkwe ya Selefera - Silver Leopard and the Nkwe ya Boronse - Bronze Leopard.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.

Award criteria

The Nkwe ya Gauta - Golden Leopard can be awarded to all ranks of the South African National Defence Force 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 exceptional 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 Gauta - Golden Leopard have been published by the South African Defence Department.Nkwe ya Gauta (NG) (Bravery Award Gold)
/ref> * Deliberate but daring and courageous actions, on a single occasion or over a period of time. * A single act of valour, or most conspicuous bravery, or daring or pre-eminent act of self-sacrifice, or extreme devotion to duty in the presence of an enemy. * A real threat of loss of own life. * Placing a high premium on the prevention of the loss of lives. * Actions vital to attain success. * Perseverance under extremely difficult situations.

Order of wear

The position of the Nkwe ya Gauta - Golden 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 Gold

;Official military order of precedence: * Preceded by the Star for Bravery in Gold (SBG) of Umkhonto we Sizwe. * Succeeded by the

Star of South Africa, Gold The Star of South Africa, Gold, post-nominal letters SSA, is the senior decoration of two military and five non-military classes of the Order of the Star of South Africa, a South African Order which was instituted in 1975, for award to general a ...

(SSA) of the

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

Description

;Obverse The Nkwe ya Gauta - Golden 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 9 carat gold, with a diameter of 38 millimetres. The arms of the cross are faceted per chevron, embowed throughout and the extremities also 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 golden leopard's head. ;Reverse The reverse bears, in relief, the Coat of arms of South Africa. The decoration is attached to a plain gold suspender, fixed to the upper arm of the decoration. The medal number is impressed or engraved below the Coat of Arms. ;Ribbon The ribbon is 32 millimetres wide and sky blue with 6 millimetres wide gold 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 Gauta - Golden Leopard is 33 millimetres wide and 5 millimetres high, struck in 9 carat gold 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 9 carat gold, 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. These insignia are struck in 9 carat gold and are 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 The South African Military Health Service is the branch of the South African National Defence Force responsible for medical facilities and the training and deployment of all medical personnel within the force. Though unusual, as most national mili ...

References

{{Highest Awards for gallantry Military decorations and medals of South Africa Courage awards 2003 establishments in South Africa Awards established in 2003