Lebo Diseko

Lebo broke the news of Muhammad Ali’s death and is experienced in anchoring rolling news coverage. Other key stories Lebo has presented coverage of include the Brexit referendum and the 2016 US election campaign.

Lebo regularly presents Focus on Africa, the BBC’s only dedicated weekday TV news programme for the African audience. She anchored coverage of Kenya’s disputed 2017 election, Nigeria’s key 2015 election, as well as coverage of the fight against Boko Haram, and the Ebola crisis. Lebo has interviewed key newsmakers from the African continent, including Kofi Annan, Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni, and the then AU commission chair Nkoszana-Dlamini-Zuma.

Lebo was born in South Africa and brought up in the UK, the daughter of political exiles. She studied politics and international relations at Johannesburg’s University of Witwatersrand. This background gives her a particular understanding of world events and different audiences. Her specialist area is Southern Africa, and she recently spent a number of months in Johannesburg reporting on the fall of Jacob Zuma.

As well as more than a decade spent at the BBC, Lebo has also reported for CNN and ITN. Her talents extend to hosting conferences, moderating panel discussions and public speaking.