Motala was born on 6 July 1947, in Ventersdrop, Gauteng. He matriculated in 1964 from Stanger High School on the KwaZulu Natal north coast. He graduated with a MBChB from the University of Natal in 1970 and did his internship at King Edward VIII Hospital in Durban. He worked as a general practitioner in Vryburg, North West, for five years before joining the Red Cross War Memorial Children's Hospital as a Senior House Officer in 1979 to pursue his desire to specialise in paediatrics.

He often told colleagues that he had learned more by being a GP in an impoverished community than in any other setting and his time there had imbued him with a sense of compassion and desire to "look after" people.

In 1983, he qualified as a specialist paediatrician and, in 2001, obtained a Fellowship of American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology, having been the first South African recipient of an International Distinguished Fellowship in Allergy and Clinical Immunology in recognition of outstanding achievements and contributions in clinical Allergy and Immunology from the same organisation in 1998.

In January 2004, he was appointed co-director of the Allergy Division in the School of Child and Adolescent Health. Prior to this, he contributed towards developing and implementing the Diploma In Allergology examination under the auspices of the College of Medicine of South Africa, and also contributed to the successful submission to the Health Professions Council to have Allergology recognised as a sub-specialty.

He wrote numerous papers for publication and contributed to several books on Allergology. He was also frequently invited to give presentations at international conferences, symposia and workshops.

Prof Motala held several leadership positions within the University and Faculty, ranging from Senate and the Physical Planning Committee, to the running the general paediatric programme and serving as Director of Clinical Services.

In addition to his busy workload at UCT and the Red Cross War Memorial Children's Hospital, Prof Motala also served on the boards of several organisations, chairing the SA Childhood Asthma Working Group and twice serving as President of the Allergy Society of SA. From 2000 to 2007, he was the first South African to serve on the board of the World Allergy Organisation.

Prof Motala is described by colleagues as "very caring, and extremely compassionate to people as individuals". Emeritus Professor Dave Beatty described him as humble, and a gentleman, and spoke of occasions where Prof Motala would bring a cake to a meeting if he thought things would "become difficult". Emer Prof Beatty called him a "peacemaker, who was loveable and much-loved by everybody".

Dr Tony Westwood said: "Cas has been a central pillar of the School of Child and Adolescent Health at UCT as well as the Department of Paediatrics at Red Cross War Memorial Children's Hospital, and, of course, a major leader in paediatric Allergy in this province and the country and internationally. He was very recently promoted to the rank of full professor in the Faculty of Health Sciences, UCT - a singular achievement and honour. He will be sorely, sorely missed."

He is survived by his wife Farieda, a paediatrician at Red Cross War Memorial Children's Hospital, and son, Mikhail, who is a student at UCT. We extend our sympathy and condolences to his family and friends.

The School of Child and Adolescent Health will be holding a tribute to Prof Motala at Red Cross Childrens Hospital on Thursday, 18 November 2010 at 1pm in the D3 Lecture Theatre.