The Nkwe ya Selefera - Silver Leopard , post-nominal letters NS , was instituted by the President of South Africa on 16 April 2003 and came into effect on 27 April 2003 . The bilingual title of the decoration is in Sesotho and English . This decoration replaced the Honoris Crux ( HC ) as South Africa 's second highest military decoration for bravery . It is the middle award of a set of three military decorations for bravery , along with the Nkwe ya Gauta - Golden Leopard and the Nkwe ya Boronse - Bronze Leopard
Honoris Crux
Honoris Crux (1975)
Nkwe ya Selefera