Sibusiso Vilane

Date: 2 June, 2003

Mpumalanga game ranger, Sibusiso Vilane, became the first Black South African to reach the top of  Mount Everest, an 8 848m Himalayan peak, one of the world's highest.  Vilane, with dual South African and Swazi nationality, took part in an international team expedition, which had reached the summit on 26 May 2003.

Back in South Africa, he told journalists at an environmental affairs media briefing at parliament about his experience: "I dropped to my knees and thanked the Lord for taking me to the top of the mountain. Then I wept. Then I stood up and smiled ... I was grateful there was an African standing on top of the world."

He planted a SA flag on the summit, alongside the Tibetan prayer flags already flying there.

Sources:

1. http://www.news24.com/News24/South_Africa/News/0,9294,2-7-1442_1369657,00.html
2. http://www.everestspeakersbureau.com/vilane.htm