Forestry, Fisheries and Environment Minister Barbara Creecy has paid tribute to two senior environmental officials who died in separate incidents at the weekend.
Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment’s director of climate change mitigation policy, regulation and planning Mushudu Owen Mundalamo passed away on Saturday after a short illness.
Creecy said he was a key member of the government’s climate change team and had recently been promoted into a position where he was playing an important role in the development of policy and regulations, and contributing to planning, to mitigate the devastating effects of climate change being felt across the country, and the world.
Kobus de Wet, a senior manager in the SANParks Environmental Crime Investigative Unit (ECI) based at Groenkloof in Pretoria was stormed and killed by a hippo while camping in the Kruger National Park (KNP) on Saturday.
Creecy said he too was an important member of the Environmental Crimes Investigation unit at SANParks and played a leading role in the effort to combat rhino poaching.
”He also played a pivotal tole and a plethora of environmental crimes in and around the country’s national parks.
“The death of two senior environmental officials who had committed their lives to the conservation of our natural resources, is a loss to the entire environmental community,” she said.
A soccer enthusiast, writer and analyst, and a die-hard supporter of Orlando Pirates, Mundalamo, 42, is survived by his life partner, Tshego Marumo, his son, Mufhatutshedzwa, and twin boys, Orifuna and Oritonda, while de Wet is survived by his widow lmarie de Wet, his two children, Jacobus Jr and Leneldie, and three grandchildren.
Last year, a leopard within the park injured two employees.
“The first incident occurred on June 26 and the second on July 17.
Both employees sustained serious injuries. In 2019 a 2-year-old boy was killed by a leopard after it managed to access a fenced-off area of the park and grab the boy, who was the son of an employee.
Family members rushed the boy to hospital.
However, but he was pronounced dead on arrival.
Cape Times