His vision is that of 'world socialism' and the creation of egalitarian societies. Koma in his writings constantly reminds us that "our society has always missed the central issues of our problems." Koma's thought is radical and prescient. Vintage Koma is a veritable people's tribune. 'Nothing human is alien to him.' He remains the voice of the disenfranchised and an astute and an emancipatory teacher of teachers. He is avid student of human societies to the marrow of his bones. Koma took it upon himself to study all African problems, whatever they may be.' The care and dexterity with which he uses languages attests to his deep and profound sense of humanity. I must admit, that I failed to return a copy of Lenin on Language that he kindly lent to me. I have been keeping drafts and manuscripts of some of his political writings for posterity.
If, as German Marxist playwright Bertolt Brecht once observed, politics is the art of thinking inside other people's heads, then Koma is a consummate and progressive politician. He has a formidable grasp of Botswana's most intricate problems and knew how to address them in a manner intelligible to the broad masses. He is still head and shoulders above the wine-drinking politico-intellectuals who can only view Botswana's realities from the comfort of mansions packed with imported wines and spirits or from vantage-point tinted windows of their luxurious sedans and trendy dark sunglasses. Koma identifies with and had immense respect for the resilience of dispossessed people relegated to the economic, social, political and cultural margins. Above all, he possesses conviction and the will to contest the ethos and ideas not only of the neo-colonial polity under which he lived but also those of world capitalism.
