The Faculty of Law at the University of Pretoria congratulates TuksLaw alumna Lechani Wotho, a citizen of Botswana, on her selection as a member of the Mandela Washington Fellowship. 

Fellows are involved in a six-week academic and leadership institute as part of the Mandela Washington Fellowship, the flagship programme of President Obama’s Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI). The goal of the programme, hosted by Bridgewater State University, is to empower young African leaders through academic coursework, leadership training, mentoring, networking, professional opportunities and support for activities in their communities.

Since 2014, Lechani has been a court magistrate for the Botswana Administration of Justice. She is a founding member and current chair of Foundation Africa International (FAI), a non-profit organisation promoting young governance across the Africa continent. According to Lechani her court experience has opened her eyes to the reality of the numerous challenges that people are faced with daily and has enhanced her desire to be a positive force for change in her society. Aspiring to be a renowned Judge of the High Court, Lechani says the fellowship will be a key to achieving that. "I want to play an integral part in effecting the needed changes in the justice system of our country."  Upon her return to Botswana, she aims to further the reach and efficacy of FAI by promoting youth education and civic awareness.

Lechani is an LLB graduate from the University of Pretoria and was the first black Chairperson of the 2009/10 Exco Committee of Law House, a student body of TuksLaw.

Lechani, second from the left, with her co-fellows.