ROYALTY IN THE NEWSROOM
FROM her very first taste of the media industry, job shadowing at the Daily News as a shy but inquisitive secondary school student, Bokani King was hooked on the noble profession.
Since then, then 32-yearold all-rounder has established herself as one of the standout stars of the local media fraternity, winning several awards and gaining international recognition for her work.
As well as a deep love for Tourism, King is driven by issues of gender and is a leading voice for women in news as well as marginalised groups in society.
This week, The Voice’s OLEOSI KGOSI caught up with the renowned journo to unfold her incredible story…
Thanks for taking time out of your busy schedule to chat with us. Kindly tell us a bit about yourself and your occupation?
My name is Bokani King. I am a multi-award-winning journalist, an awardwinning entrepreneur and a communications and social media expert. I am currently the Chairperson of the Women in News Botswana Alumni chapter as well and a board member of Women in Tourism Botswana. I am the co-founder of Inklusive Voices: a digital platform using solutions reporting to elevate voices of marginalised groups and everyone who needs a platform to share their stories.
What I can say about myself is that I love helping people and I love advocating for people who are marginalised or overlooked. Through my work, I am an advocate for people with disabilities and gender-based violence, women, children and gender issues.
Where did you draw inspiration from?
I did my job shadowing at Daily News in 2004 when I was 14, I was asked to continue but, because of school commitments, I could not. I freelanced for The Voice Newspaper in 2008. I used to watch Debora Patta on 3rd Degree on ETV and was inspired by her boldness and told myself that I would also one day be on television dissecting issues and holding people accountable.
You also have your own media establishment, King On Media – tell us a bit
more about this?
King On Media is a company I started in 2020, just before Covid hit. I had a great vision for it but my plans were derailed by the pandemic, however, I managed to use my network to build a client base during that time. It is a communications all-rounder agency which offers public relations, digital/social media marketing, consulting, photography and videography services, communications and marketing strategies and event management among other things. We also do campaigns which are part of my passion projects, one of which earned us a Men & Boys for Gender Equality Anti GBV award under the Best Media House category. We also work with some NGOS pro bono as a way of giving back to the community, helping them address their different needs.