Duma Boko

Duma Gideon Boko is a Botswana politician. He is a lawyer and jurist.[1] He is the president of the main opposition party in Botswana and Botswana National Front (BNF).

Duma Boko
President of UDC
Assumed office
November 2014
Personal details
Born (1969-12-31) December 31, 1969
Mahalapye, Botswana
NationalityBotswana
Political partyUmbrella for Democratic Change
ResidenceGaborone
Alma materHarvard Law School, University of Botswana
ProfessionLawyer, Academic, bureaucrat

Duma Boko attained the presidency of the BNF in 2010. He led the creation of the Umbrella for Democratic Change, an alliance of the main opposition parties in Botswana. He ran as the alliance's president in Botswana's elections in 2014 and 2019.

Early life

His father worked as a lecturer at Madiba Brigades. Duma's father died in 2004, after raising Duma and his sister Emma.

In 1987 Boko studied law at University of Botswana (UB). He was elected to the Student Representative Council (SRC). Among his law classmates were High Court judges Michael Leburu, Key Dingake, Bengbame Sechele and Lot Moroka. After graduating, in 1993, he furthered his studies at Harvard Law School.[2]

Career

He returned to teach Law at UB from 1993-2003,[3] while operating a law firm on the side. In the early 2000s Boko wrote a column in The Monitor newspaper in which he claimed that judges were not intellectually progressive. He expressed frustration that academics and judges were not doing enough research to make informed judgments.

Between 2005 and 2006 Boko was part of the legal team representing Basarwa who were challenging their relocation from the Central Kalahari Game Reserve (CKGR). The judgment that was passed on December 13, 2006 was a 50/50 outcome for both sides. In 2007 Boko defended two men facing the death penalty, Michael Molefhe and Brandon Sampson.

He was a member of the Law Society of Botswana (2006-2007). He was a member of the Board of Governors of Botswana Network on Ethics, Law and HIV-Aids. He was a member of the Boards of Directors of several local Companies.

Politics

Boko became the leader of the Botswana National Front (BNF) in 2010.[4] His position and party membership was challenged on the grounds that when the BNF split in 2000, he had become a founding member of the National Democratic Front (NDF).[5] If proven, this would, according to the BNF constitution, disqualify him from a leadership position in the party for three years after rejoining it. He prevailed in court. He inherited a party that was in decline under the leadership of Otsweletse Moupo.

The BNF came together with the newly formed Botswana Movement for Democracy (BMD), a splinter of the Botswana Democratic Party, and the Botswana Peoples Party to form the Umbrella for Democratic Change.[6] Some BNF members were strongly against the coalition, arguing that the exercise would make their party disappear.[7] Lawsuits against Boko and his central committee were filed before the High Court. Boko and the BNF won all the court challenges.

2014 General Elections

In the 2014 general elections, Duma Boko led UDC to a narrow win of the State House. UDC was the second largest party to win seats.[8] Boko became the leader of the Opposition.

2019 General Elections

In the 2019 general elections, Duma Boko was soundly defeated by Anna Mokgethi of the BDP in the Gaborone Bonnington North constituency and as a result of his defeat, he was no longer the leader of opposition in the 12th National Assembly.

Claims of vote rigging in the 2019 general election

Duma Boko, claims there was massive vote rigging and fraud during the general election, by the BDP, to favour the current President, Mokgweetsi Masisi. The UDC lost the case with costs.[9]

Publications
  • Boko, D.G. (1998) Towards a Compensatory Approach to Redressing Constitutional Violations in Botswana. The Zimbabwe Law Review (ZLRev), vol. 15, (pp. 120-133). UZ, Mt. Pleasant, Harare: Faculty of Law (UZ).
  • Boko, D. G. (2002). Integrating the Basarwa under Botswana's Remote Area Development Programme: Empowerment or marginalisation?. Australian Journal of Human Rights, 8(2), 153-171.
  • Boko, D.G. Fair Trial and the Customary Courts in Botswana: Questions on Legal Representation. Criminal Law Forum 11, 445–460 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1016667617539

See also

References
  1. MAWARIRE, TELDAH (23 October 2014). "We're on the government's hit list - Botswana opposition leader". Mail & Guardian. Retrieved 15 November 2014.
  2. Mathala, Sharon (8 September 2017). "The loo flushes away BMD'S woes". The Voice. Retrieved 20 February 2018.
  3. "President Duma Boko". Umbrella for Democratic change. UDC. Retrieved 6 October 2017.
  4. "Mmegi Online :: Boko victorious; elected BNF president". Mmegi Online. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
  5. editor, Online. "BNF backs Boko's membership claim | Sunday Standard". Retrieved 30 May 2020. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  6. "Brief History | UDC". www.udc.org.bw. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
  7. Mehler, Andreas (1 January 2013), "V. Central Africa", Africa Yearbook Volume 9, BRILL, pp. 451–454, doi:10.1163/9789004256002_006, ISBN 978-90-04-25600-2
  8. "Elections Botswana". Elections Botswana. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
  9. "Massive vote rigging uncovered in Botswana elections, claims opposition leader Duma Boko". News24. 5 December 2019. Retrieved 15 December 2019.
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