Duma Boko

Duma Gideon Boko (born 31 December 1969) is a Motswana politician and lawyer who is currently serving as the sixth President of Botswana since 1 November 2024 and as leader of the Umbrella for Democratic Change since 2012.

Among his law classmates were High Court judges Michael Leburu, Key Dingake, Bengbame Sechele and Lot Moroka.

[10] 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).

[14] In the 2014 general election, Duma Boko led the UDC to a second-place finish in the National Assembly, winning 17 seats to the Botswana Democratic Party's (BDP) 37.

In the 2019 general election, Boko was defeated by Anna Mokgethi of the BDP in the Gaborone Bonnington North constituency.

[16] Boko claimed that during the 2019 general election, there was massive vote rigging and fraud by the BDP to favour President Mokgweetsi Masisi.

As president, Boko stated his intention to granting temporary work and residence permits to undocumented Zimbabweans and renegotiate economic agreements with De Beers regarding Botswana's diamond industry.

[22] In his first State of the Nation Address on 19 November, Boko said that his government would push for increased investment into solar energy, medicinal cannabis and industrial hemp.

President Duma Boko at Inauguration Parade at National Stadium