Botswana election: Duma Boko – politician did the unthinkable

Confident and polite, new Botswana President Duma Boko has the characteristics of a well-trained human rights lawyer.

The 54-year-old’s fluent, thoughtful sentences speak to his law studies first in Botswana and then at Harvard Law School in the US.

And although he was modest in his victory, the fact that he was elected president on the third time he applied for a job showed a single-minded ambition.

For more than 50 years, opposition politicians have dreamed of toppling the powerful Botswana Democratic Party, but only Boko has made it happen.

The landslide victory of his Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) party was a surprise, even for Boko himself, who admitted to being shocked by the numbers.

However, dressed in his trademark dark blue suit, he did not gloat or celebrate wildly in his first comments to the media on Friday as the scale of his victory became clear.

“I can only commit [the people] that I will do my best. When I fail and make mistakes, I will look to them for guidance,” he said.

Boko, has attracted a country going through difficult economic times with promises of change, jobs and government subsidies.

“People love him and this is the result,” journalist Innocent Selatlhwa told the BBC’s Focus on Africa podcast.

The journalist added that throughout his election campaign, at rallies, Boko would ask his supporters to come closer and listen to their grievances in a way that made him attractive to the public. young. Boko is serious but always engaging and friendly.

According to Selatlhwa, he also refused to run as a member of parliament and put all his efforts into becoming president – a bold step.

Born in 1969, in the central district of the country, in the small town of Mahalapye, Boko was always aware of being respected by his relatives.

“He was very determined about doing the right thing. His sense of justice is very profound,” his aunt told a local newspaper.

During his time in school, he was elected student council president.

According to political analyst Lesole Machacha, during his legal career he emerged as one of the country’s leading lawyers.

Passionate about knowledge and education, Boko always had a keen grasp of current affairs in Botswana, Mr Machacha told the BBC.

“He is very serious about fixing the country,” he added.

Mr Machaha said he became leader of the Botswana National Front (BNF) in 2010, which used to have more “communist ideals”, but since then the party has moved towards the centre.

But frustrated by years of opposition failure, Boko pioneered the formation of a coalition of opposition parties to the government and the UDC was born.

He was criticized more than a decade ago when he described the teaching staff at the University of Botswana as “useless”, despite being a former lecturer.

Many saw this as a criticism of the country’s education system.

When confronted by a journalist on South African news channel eNCA about the issue, he said: “The truth hurts.”

Earlier this month, his wife, Kaone Boko, told Mmegi newspaper that her husband is a principled person to the point of stubbornness.

“He doesn’t back down from a fight; no matter how big the enemy is,” she said.

Perhaps this is a clue as to how he managed to stay the course and defeat one of Africa’s most successful political parties.