Until about a week ago when I last spoke to this stalwart of the opposition politics of Botswana, I never thought parting company with comrade Othata Koduthebe Otto Motlogelwa was anywhere imminent. Otto was to me, a brother, a friend, a mentor, a comrade, a discussant and a constant source of encouragement when life presented me with uncertainties. But Otto was more than all these as he was also many things as well to many other people in many different situations. Othata was above all else a conscientious worker and an incredible thinker.
He was a practicing Marxist whose life was guided by Marxist principles, amongst which was an unshaking belief in the Marxist utopia where a worker is at once both a producer of goods and commodities as well as a philosopher. It was in furtherance of this unflinching belief that Othata developed himself to be a machinist of the highest order and a thinker who shared his ideals through a column he authored under the pen name Masundakoko. (Pitiki the dung beetle that never fails to surmount any obstacle) Over and above all, Otto knew the value of language as a tool of communication that could either weld communities together or divide them.
