Mattera was buried in accordance with Islamic rites.
Don Mattera used art to speak to the hearts and minds of the oppressed while standing up to the oppressors.She says those that abused vulnerable women and children did not escape his razor-sharp tongue: “He took gang members and turned them into sportsmen. Children, women who are abused, that was a soft spot with Don. He believed that the youth could change, against the drugs and addiction. What he always said is that we must give them compassion. Build them up to be better people in society.
Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture Nathi Mthethwa says Mattera has always used his words as a sword: “His fight for what he believed in using everything available to him. He used to say that his words are a weapon, they hurt. If you look at his work, by and large his words talks to the youth, talks to the children. He was very dedicated in wanting to see children better.
Kevin Martin from the Don Mattera Legacy Foundation – who has known Mattera for 50 years – vowed to keep his legacy alive: “I got to know Don through poetry readings and soon we became family. He saw something in us as youth activists at the time to nurture us. To get involved in the struggle. We have set ourselves the aim to preserve his work. Republishing his work, publishing his current work.”Mattera now rests among other heroes at Westpark Cemetery.