the shy radical

By Lekopanye Mooketsi (Mmegi/The Reporter, Gaborone)

February 28, 2005: Vocal Gaborone attorney, Duma Boko is still haunted by what happened to him when he was a Form Three student. He was kicked out of a Religious and Moral Education class for expressing views that were seen to be in support of homosexuality.

His teacher at Madiba Secondary School could not take his "nonsense" because she felt that he was going to be a bad influence on other students. He argued that there was nothing unchristian and ungodly about homosexuality. However, instead of engaging Boko, the teacher kicked him out of the class. But the lawyer still holds the same views on homosexuality. He wishes that one day he could meet his ex-teacher to talk things over.

"It hurt me badly. It still continues to haunt me that I could be expelled for expressing my views," he said.

Boko was the only student who passed the subject with A during the end of year examinations. But he does not like the subject even now and insists that it was unconstitutional to teach children about Christianity in schools.

However, Boko has learnt something from the incident. He has come to realise that society does not tolerate people with differing views. But he is as defiant as ever and says he will always question what he feels is not right.

Boko says when he was at primary school, he once boycotted classes because of corporal punishment. "I left school for a few weeks because of that. I fled from abuse."
He only resumed classes after his father had a chat with the teacher. He said his father who passed away last year had a lot of books at home. "I was surrounded by books."

His father inquired about what he learnt on the first day he set his foot in school. Since then, he realised that he had to account for his school work. "It helped me to focus quite early in life. Every time when I came back from school, I shared my experiences with the old man."

While other people might dismiss him as a publicity seeker, Boko describes himself as a shy person. "I am an extremely shy individual."

He says even though he was in a debating club at secondary school, he is still extremely shy.

His decision to study law was influenced by the debates at school. Boko started to read leftist literature when he was at secondary school. They used to travel all the way from Mahalapye to collect Marxist literature from the Russian embassy in Gaborone.
When he went for his Tirelo Setshaba, he took a luggage of books, some of which he was given by his father. He spent the whole year "eating" the books.

Boko says he is not even anti- establishment as people think. He stands out from the crowd because he is able to challenge issues.

"I am not beholden to anybody. I am beholden to my conscience on what is just and fair. I prefer to lead a quiet life but a lot of things that I say attract publicity because they are strange or sound way out of routine. I am not doing something unusual. When you speak out, you stick out." He added that ordinary people should speak their minds.

But he feels there is a culture of fear. He points out that people only raise burning issues in the comfort of their homes or offices. "But they don't speak out openly. I do speak out and that is all I do. When you speak, you attract attention because very few people speak. My intention is not to attract attention. I am just being me. I am a writer. I am a very out spoken person," said the youthful lawyer.

Boko regards the recent death threats made against him very seriously even if it might just be a prank. However, he is adamant that he is not going to be silenced. "I can't stop being who I am. I will remain defined. If the threat is real, what is it that one could do. I would be like a gold fish trying to hide in an aquarium. I can't run, I can't hide," he said dejectedly. He added that his family members are also concerned about his safety.

Boko, who studied for his law degree at the University of Botswana (UB), says he is disillusioned at this institute of higher learning because lecturers there never engage in any intellectual debate. "At secondary school, we had dynamic teachers who would inspire us. I feel some teachers at secondary school were much better in terms of inspiring students. This disappointing about UB. You expect to find people who are knowledgeable, robust and inspiring but this was never the case. I was terribly disappointed by the UB education."

But it was a different scenario at Harvard University where Boko went to study for his Master's Degree. He said this was the only place where he encountered knowledgeable professors who encouraged debate. He was extremely impressed by the research and analysis of issues.

Boko became a law lecturer at UB before he opened his practice. He indicated that he has always been interested in cases that raise constitutional and human rights issues. "In them, I began to see the limits of the law as interpreted by courts in their inability to fully secure constitutional and human rights. People tend to think that ideology is only in politics. There is also an ideology in law. The ideology of law interpretations followed does not fully secure the rights of people."

The challenge, he said, is to get lawyers and judicial officers who can interpret the law to advance justice and protect people's constitutional rights.

Boko would like to see younger people being appointed to positions of responsibility in the judicial system. He said young people are more open to experimentation. "We want merit. We want people to rise on merit, not on association or parentage. We want equal opportunities. I want to see judges in their early 30s. There is a talent in those age categories which is not recognised. I want to see that happen because that is where the future lies. I think the old chaps have reached the end of their capacity."

Boko is not only fascinated by intellectual debates. On his office wall, there is a framed picture of the American jazz great Louis Armstrong, clutching his prized trumpet.