As early as 6am CAT on a Friday 7 November 2024, with a cherry on top their cake; a paid leave has been given to Batswana citizens and all workforce at their workplaces. Batswana and other nationals residing in Botswana knew the day of a new dawn has rose. The cloudy, morning marked day of the inauguration of the 6th duly elected president of Botswana, Advocate Duma Gideon Boko (54).
In the capital Gaborone, queues leading to the 30 000 seater national stadium were getting denser by a minute. Elsewhere, radio and television sets were on local modulation for a minute to minute diary session. No action was to be missed. A boy from Mahalapye in the central district dreamt of many things and surely the presidency wasn’t one one them.
However growing up, he grew to like politics – something you can’t separate from law – his profession as a human rights lawyer. He trained his law at Harvard University. Probably the highest institution in the world. He believed in communism.
Thus why he joined the then opposition party Botswana National Front, climbing through the ranks to end up as its president. And as fate will have it, Batswana were home and dry with the rule of the Botswana Democratic Party. For 58 years since independence, the landlocked southern African country with a population of 2.6 million has been defined as a beacon of democracy in Africa for its peaceful and fair elections, rule of law and governance.
At independence, Botswana was regarded one of the poorest countries in the world, however it’s people stood up to build it brick by brick including building their own university through “every man a beast” translating to every family contribution towards a fund raising. That’s Batswana, a self reliant sovereign republic.
Our boy, the president has also benefited from free education and he wanted change, change to improve the well being of his people. Him and other wise men conceptualized a coalition to dethrone the Goliath in BDP. The first trial was in the 2014 general elections where the signs of improvement were showing, however some parties felt the movement wasn’t good enough.
Advocate Duma Boko had his script. Then cometh the hour. After 10 years of grueling, fatigue and self doubt, the blue train, the Umbrella for Democratic Change dominate color did the unthinkable – overturning a 58 year rule of the BDP in a landslide victory.
In tennis – it’s game, set, match; in boxing it’s a TKO. The massacre forced the outgoing President Masisi to call his rival to congratulate him on his triumph despite ballot being 65% done, the writing was on the wall, BDP has lost power to opposition, BDP is now opposition with only 4 representatives against 1 independent candidate, 15 for Botswana Congress Party while the rest were UDC from the allocated 61 seat assembly.
From park and walk in a distance of about 2km to reach the stadium. This moment is one of a lifetime. Dignitaries from afar graced the inauguration, the first in the country to be held outside the traditional National Assembly. President Advocate has unified the country, he has brought hope and confidence in the country back.
Botswana has gotten it’s Boy! Messages of gratitude and congratulatory are pouring in the government enclave from across world leaders, an applause to Botswana for cherishing and celebrating democracy.
