Mike had come in earlier in February and I came in seven months later. I later learnt he had joined the newspaper from Maun where he had been teaching at Maun Secondary School.
The other veterans were Pamela Dube, Mesh Moeti and Keto Segwai. Sechele ‘Sechmore’ Sechele was the newspaper editor. This cohort of journalists hand-held me and I quickly learnt the ropes of journalism.
Over time, me and Mike developed a ‘special friendship’ that lasted forever. He became my big brother and mentor.
Interestingly, I did not remember seeing or meeting Mike at the University of Botswana as it turned out he was a few classes ahead of me. We worked together for a number of years until he left to join the Botswana Guardian.
At the time, William Jones owned the Botswana Guardian and it was a serious competitor to Mmegi and the owner poached the crème de la crème of journalists from the rival newspaper. It was by no coincidence that Mike ended up at the Guardian. He was a rare talent.
We kept contact even after his departure. He was later to become the editor of the Guardian. The owners ultimately gave him the responsibility to manage the CBET Group, the then publishers of the Guardian and The Midweek Sun.
He later transitioned to stand alone and ventured into other things. There was a period when we lost contact but we would later reconnect in the later stages of our lives. Mike, as an elder brother would chastise me for not checking on him. Two years back, we got back to communicating on a regular basis.
Every time we spoke, he would ask me about the people from Segogwane Way. This is the street in Maruapula where Mmegi was housed when we joined the newspaper. The office later relocated to the Main Mall to an address that is never popular like our beloved Segogwane Way. In one of our communications in April, I confided in Mike about a situation I was going through. As a big brother, he took time to advise and encourage me. He would on a regular basis urge me not to despair but rather look to the future. He became a counsellor and this is one of the messages he left me with:
“Believe me KG. One day, one day, you will be able to talk about this without a trace of hurt. I am saying this from personal experience. I went through hell. Worse, was that I had just retired from employment and was out to hassle. As if that was not enough, I was diagnosed with a chronic ailment. I was handling unemployment for which I had prepared through a strong balance sheet, a sickness I didn’t know I had (type 2 diabetes) and divorce I had not anticipated. You will just be fine. But whatever happens, fight to raise those kids. I won mine and they are growing gracefully. Just hold on brother. I will remember you in my prayers.” A brotherly advice I got from ‘Mickey’, as Mesh would call him. Indeed Mike loved his children and would never miss a moment to celebrate their milestones.
Death has robbed me and many others who came to know Mike closely. The announcement of Mike’s passing has devastated me.
A former colleague, Modirwa Kekwaletswe, broke the news to me and I could not believe what I was hearing. Recently, I met a ‘friend’, who actually was Mike’s best friend. We could not conclude our conversation without talking about Mike because he had brought us together.
When I heard the news of Mike’s passing, I thought of her and I did not know I would relay the sad news to her. ‘T-Girl’ as we referred to her, called me on Monday afternoon. “Is it true?” was her first question to me. I gathered courage and confirmed that indeed Mike had left us. Of course, she wanted to know what happened to our beloved Mike. I had no answers but just that I got the news without details.
We had a plan for me to visit Mike in Kanye. He really wanted me to come to his place. One time I saw a picture of him with some gentleman I could not clearly identify. When I enquired from him if it was Methaetsile Leepile he confirmed and this is how he responded.
“Ke ene. A nchekile. Ke wena hela o sa nchekeng! (It’s him. He had paid me a visit. You are the only one who is yet to visit me.)” I delayed and now this. Now, I will be going to Mike’s place to bid him the final farewell as we lay him to rest tomorrow in his home village, Kanye. This life has no formula. I have learnt bitterly that there are no fruits of procrastination.
I will forever be grateful for the time I had with Mike. A sweet soul, indeed. Heaven has gained and earth has lost immensely. Hopefully, Mike will meet the other former late scribes and reminisce about the old times of ‘legala’. The likes of Rampholo ‘Chamza’ Molefhe, Dubani-wa-Dubani, Beata Kasale, Don Moore, Linchwe Kgaswe, Augustine Mathumo, Sekgopi Tshite, Masupu Rakabane and many others I cannot mention here.
Fare thee well, my brother. We shall meet again.
