Phodisho Samuel Maganyela, a 15-year-old Grade 10 learner from Lesedi Secondary School in the Tshwane District, in Bronkhorstspruit, has claimed top honours in the 2025 Bokamoso Creative Essay Competition. He is pictured with (L-R) Mevashnee Naidoo, HR Director of Knight Piésold South Africa; Edoardo Zannoni, Director at Knight Piésold South Africa; and Vishal Haripersad, MD of Knight Piésold Southern Africa.
Phodisho Samuel Maganyela, a 15-year-old Grade 10 learner from Lesedi Secondary School in the Tshwane District, in Bronkhorstspruit, has claimed top honours in the 2025 Bokamoso Creative Essay Competition, held recently in Klipspruit, Gauteng, where he impressed judges with his imaginative and practical solutions that empower youth-driven sustainability efforts.
Maganyela’s standout essay explored how young minds can engineer sustainable solutions addressing South Africa’s pressing challenges. His visionary ideas, grounded in creativity and in the principles of science, technology, education, and mathematics (STEM), underscore the vital role that tomorrow’s engineers and thinkers will play in shaping a sustainable future.
Hosted by Knight Piésold, on 13 October 2025, in partnership with the Gauteng Department of Education (GDE), the Bokamoso Creative Essay Competition invited Grade 10 and 11 learners from no-fee and government-funded schools to submit essays on the theme, “Innovating for Impact: How Young Minds Can Engineer a Sustainable South Africa.” Essays were judged on originality, creativity and relevance to issues such as energy and water security, infrastructure development, waste management and equitable access to education.
(L-R) Zinhle Ndebele from Curtis Nkondo School of Specialisation (4thposition); Paballo Kutumela from Lofentse Girls High School in the Johannesburg South District (2nd place); Nomhle Msiza from Khutlo-Tharo School of Specialisation in the Sedibeng District (3rd place); Phodisho Samuel Maganyela, from Lesedi Secondary School in the Tshwane District (winner); and Hloniphile Dube from Eldomaine Secondary School (5th place).