Minister Creecy pays tribute to two senior environmental officials

Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment Minister Barbara Creecy has expressed her condolences to the family, colleagues and friends of two senior environmental officials who died this past weekend.

“I have learnt with sadness about the death of the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment’s Director of Climate Change Mitigation Policy, Regulation and Planning, Mashudu Owen Mundalamo, and of Kobus de Wet, a Senior Manager in the SANParks Environmental Crime Investigative Unit (ECI) based at Groenkloof in Pretoria,” the Minister said on Sunday.

She said the death of two senior environmental officials who had committed their lives to the conservation of the country’s natural resources, is a loss to the entire environmental community.

Mundalamo (42) passed away on Saturday after a short illness.

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.

A soccer enthusiast, writer and analyst, and a die-hard supporter of Orlando Pirates, Mundalamo is survived by his life partner, Tshego Marumo, his son, Mufhatutshedzwa, and twin boys, Orifuna and Oritonda.  

Sixty-two year old de Wet was stormed and killed by a hippo while camping in the Kruger National Park (KNP) on Saturday morning.

He was an important member of the Environmental Crimes Investigation unit at SANParks and played a leading role in the effort to combat rhino poaching and a plethora of environmental crimes in and around the country’s national parks.

He is survived by his wife, Almarie de Wet, his two children, Jacobus Jr and Leneldie, and three grandchildren. – SAnews.gov.za