Who is Boko? – Part 1 :: Mmegi Online

MAHALAPYE: Born and raised in the dusty streets of Xhosa I ward in the southern part of Mahalapye, a man who was thrust into the political battlefield that he relishes so much, last week emerged as the sixth President of Botswana. Writes Mmegi Correspondent SECHELE SECHELE

What can the place of his birth – where great political minds once trod - and the early years in Mahalapye, reveal about a man who led Botswana to the Second Republic after 58 years of one-party rule?

Joyce ‘MmaNthobatsang’ Mothudi was a young midwife at Mahalapye Hospital in 1969 when she had the honour to deliver into this world (on New Year’s Eve), a boy who sent the ruling Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) into the opposition ranks after almost six decades of dominating Botswana politics and national governance. This is a feat that eluded his mentor, Dr Kenneth Koma, whose political party (the Botswana National Front), he is now leading.

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