The Marumo Medal, Class I was instituted by the State President of Bophuthatswana in 1988. It is the senior award of a set of two, along with the Marumo Medal, Class II. "Marumo" can be translated as "fight" or "fighting", adopted into SeTswana from a command used by Shaka Zulu.
Award criteria
The medal could be awarded for merit in action.
Order of wear
Since the Marumo Medal, Class I was authorised for wear by one of the statutory forces which came to be part of the South African National Defence Force on 27 April 1994, it was accorded a position in the official South African order of precedence on that date. The position of the Marumo Medal, Class I in the official order of precedence was revised twice after 1994, to accommodate the inclusion or institution of new decorations and medals, first in April 1996, when decorations and medals were belatedly instituted for the two former non-statutory forces, the Azanian People's Liberation Army and Umkhonto we Sizwe, and again upon the institution of a new set of honours on 27 April 2003. ;Bophuthatswana Defence Force until 26 April 1994:
* Preceded by the Prisons Service Star for Merit of the Republic of Ciskei.
* Succeeded by the KwaZulu Department of Correctional Services Star for Merit, Officers.
The position of the Marumo Medal, Class I in the order of precedence remained unchanged, as it was in April 1996, when a new series of military orders, decorations and medals was instituted in South Africa on 27 April 2003.
Description
;Obverse The Marumo Medal, Class I is a silver-gilt medallion, 38 millimetres in diameter and 3 millimetres thick at the rim, with an encircled gold cross in a square in the centre, surrounded by eight red enameled triangles, the whole depicting four red-tipped arrows arranged as a cross. ;Reverse The reverse has the :File:Bophuthatswana COA.png|Coat of Arms of the Republic of Bophuthatswana. ;Ribbon The ribbon is 32 millimetres wide, with a 2 millimetres wide green band, a 9 millimetres wide dark blue band, a 1 millimetre wide green band, a 1 millimetre wide dark blue band and a 2½ millimetres wide dark red band, repeated in reverse order and separated by a 1 millimetre wide green band in the centre.
Discontinuation
Conferment of the Marumo Medal, Class I was discontinued when the Republic of Bophuthatswana ceased to exist on 27 April 1994.
