Kick-starting the Bonno Target 3000 Housing Development Project in Kgale View this week, Boko said any president of any country who has that ambition is instantly a failure. “You can’t want to do this job for more than 10 years, you can’t. If you are serious about it and if you take the job seriously, you can’t do it for more than 10 years,” he said. Boko added that anybody who sticks with the presidency for more than 10 years is an indication that they have failed and have no plan. He said people who do that do not understand the job. Boko, who has set targets in his five-year term, said they are going to do everything in the shortest time possible. The Constitution of Botswana only allows presidents to serve for two terms of five years each. Boko’s comments come at a time when there is a worry that African leaders will continue to manipulate the constitution to eliminate presidential term limits. Removing term limits short-circuits democracy by creating Presidents-for-Life. Some reports found that countries with term-limit violations are more conflict-prone.
In Africa, everyone else who violated term limits either died in office, was overthrown, or is still in power today. Many African leaders manage to cling to power for decades, either by force, breaking laws, or bending constitutions. It is an established norm that has been practiced throughout the history of the continent. A snapshot of the current longest-serving African heads of state includes Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo of Equatorial Guinea, who came to power in an August 3, 1979 coup and is Africa's longest-serving leader. Others include Cameroon’s Paul Biya, who has served as president of Cameroon since 1982. Denis Sassou Nguesso of the Republic of the Congo has served for more than 40 years, while Uganda’s Yoweri Museveni has led his country for 36 years since January 1986. In Botswana, the late Sir Ketumile Masire was the longest-serving president of Botswana, having been in office for 18 years from 1980-1998. Since the amendment of the country's constitution introducing term limits in 1997, no president has ever violated presidential term limits. Former president Festus Mogae served for 10 years between 1998 and 2008
. Former president Ian Khama served for 10 years from 2008 and 2018. Former president Dr Mokweetsi Masisi has earned himself the distinction of being the first President of Botswana to serve one term in office after his party was rejected by voters last October. Now, Boko, who is the leader of the Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC), will seek another term in the next general election in 2029. If he manages to secure another term, Boko will rule for another five years before paving the way for another president. The previous regime, to reinforce the presidential limits, tried to change the constitution so that sections 62 and 126 (1) of the Constitution would be amended to provide that a person who held the Office of the President for an aggregate period of 10 years is disqualified from being President ever again. Section 126 (1) of the Constitution of Botswana on re-appointments and concurrent appointments indicates that where any person has vacated any office established by the Constitution, he or she may, if qualified, again be appointed or elected to hold that office in accordance with the provisions of this Constitution.
