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eventREF E-0013540Revised

Event record

Sibusiso Vilane tells about his conquest of Everest

Sibusiso Vilane tells about his conquest of Everest

Date
2 Jun 2003
Updated
30 Sep 2019
Sibusiso Vilane tells about his conquest of Everest

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.  

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How we know this

  1. 01Mabuse,N., Mc Carthy,D., ‘Sibusiso Vilane: An adventurer's journey to the top of the world’, from CNN, 19 January, [online], Available at www.edition.cnn.com [Accessed: 1 June 2013]
  2. 02(2003), ‘President Mbeki Congratulates Sibusiso Vilane, first Black African to reach Mount Everest, 26 May 2003’, from Department International Relations and Cooperation, 26 May, [online], Available at www.dfa.gov.za [Accessed:1 June 2013]

Last updated · 30 Sep 2019

Cite this entry

South African History Online. (2011, March 16). Sibusiso Vilane tells about his conquest of Everest. South African History Online. https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0013540

South African History Online (2011) 'Sibusiso Vilane tells about his conquest of Everest', South African History Online, 16 March. Available at: https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0013540 (Accessed: 5 August 2026).

South African History Online, Sibusiso Vilane tells about his conquest of Everest [website], https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0013540, (accessed 5 August 2026).

"Sibusiso Vilane tells about his conquest of Everest." South African History Online, 16 Mar. 2011, https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0013540. Accessed 5 Aug. 2026.

South African History Online. "Sibusiso Vilane tells about his conquest of Everest." South African History Online. March 16, 2011. https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0013540.

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