Few predicted the seismic election upset that saw Duma Boko seize power from incumbent President Mokgweetsi Masisi, whose Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) had ruled the country since it gained independence from Britain in 1966.

In the wake of his landmark victory, the new president has been named in the 2025 Time100 most influential people in the world.

“President Boko is a charismatic, bold, and influential person,” Emang Mutapati, the press secretary to the president, told TRT Afrika.

“He's a Socratic interlocutor, a mad man in the world of ideas … so we are really not surprised that he is in the list of the 100 most influential people in the whole world for 2025.”

Boko swept the vote on his third attempt at presidency, under the Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) ticket, a coalition of opposition parties,

“I believe that Time obviously recognized him for the stunning election upset he caused by dislodging the then ruling party, which had been in government for the past 60 years, and of course, for the peaceful transfer of power that followed, which positioned Botswana as an example of a leading mature democracy to be admired and hopefully also to be emulated both regionally and internationally,” Mutapati added.

In hindsight however, the Boko’s UDC victory over BDP in the 2024 election was almost inevitable.

Despite the country’s vast diamond reserves, the Botswana voters were increasingly frustrated over corruption, and the huge influence of multinational giant De Beers, whose diamond trading accounts for more than 80% of Botswana’s foreign exports.

While campaigning for presidency, Boko accused the ruling party of being “connected in a grand scheme of self-enrichment.”

Political pundits say he spoke the language of economic and social rights, which resonated with the voters, securing his victory at the ballot.

“While my name may be highlighted, it is the people of Botswana who are truly influential,” Boko posted on X after Time Magazine published the list.

“They inspire me every day with their strength, resilience, and vision. A nation small in number, yet rich in spirit and potential. I am because they’re extraordinary,” he added.

As president however, Boko faces challenges turning the fortunes of the country of about 2.5 million people, which has struggled economically because of a slump in the global diamond trade. 

World diamond prices have been plummeting, as lower-cost lab-grown stones flood the market.

Boko has no easy way to reverse the slump and fulfill his long list of campaign promises.

He pledged to double the minimum wage, expanding social benefits for new mothers and seniors, create thousands of new jobs, stronger infrastructure and a competitive business climate.

Reckoning that even in Botswana, diamonds might not be forever, Boko also laid out an ambitious plan to bolster alternative revenue earning sectors such as agriculture and tourism industries.

He is now eyeing cannabis and solar-power industries as two paths to better times for Botswana.

Whatever the recourse, he told the country bluntly: “We can no longer afford to depend on a single commodity.”

Early life

Duma Boko was born in 1969, in the small Botswana town of Mahalapye.

He studied law at the University of Botswana prior to earning his LL.M. at Harvard Law, and returned to teach constitutional law at his alma mater.

Boko also ran his own law firm, which focused on public interest litigation and consultancy work on human rights issues. He advocated for the rights of the Basarwa, the Indigenous people of Botswana and served on the board of directors of the Botswana Network on Ethics, Law and HIV/AIDS.

In 2010, Boko became the leader of the Botswana National Front party, which later joined with other parties to form the Umbrella for Democratic Change, which saw him clinch the presidency.

The Harvard Law Bulletin quoted James Thuo Gathii S.J.D. ’99, a professor of international law at Loyola University Chicago School of Law describing Boko as “a brilliant lawyer, academic, and one of the most promising statesmen of his generation in Africa.”

“He brings to the presidency a visionary social democratic agenda,” Gathii, who took classes with Boko when they were students at Harvard Law, added.

“He has an impeccable understanding of Botswana’s place in southern Africa but also in Africa and indeed in the global context. All these attributes set him up very well for a great tenure as president.

Other Africans who featured in the 2025 Times 100 list include WHO Chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Nigeria’s Media mogul Mo Abudu, Ghanaian rights activist Fatou Baldeh and Zimbabwe’s Angeline Murimirwa the CEO of CAMFED, helping millions of girls go to school in Ghana, Malawi, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe and Scientist Christian Happi who is heading the African Centre of Excellence for Genomics of Infectious Diseases (ACEGID)