By Monwabisi Jimlongo
Legendary broadcasters Stan Mosia and Peter Bacela have paid tribute to iconic sport commentator Dumile ‘Phesheya Phaya’ Mateza, who passed away after losing a cancer battle on Tuesday. He was 62.
The erstwhile Radio Xhosa (now Umhlobo Wenenefm) sport commentators and presenters have described Mateza as one of the finest broadcasters to come out of South Africa. They added that the former SABC radio and TV commentator was a historian as well.
Mateza, a former acting chief executive officer of the then South African National Boxing Control Commission (SANBCC), was born in Kareedouw in the Eastern Cape and he made his name as a versatile sport commentator at the SABC.
“This is difficult to accept, I’m hurt. Dumile was more like a younger brother to me for different reasons. He was already in Johannesburg when I first arrived there in 1983. We stayed together in Diepkloof and Orlando East in Soweto,” Mosia remembered.
“We used to wake up to the sounds of classical music. That was his favourite music. Dumile was generally a sport encyclopaedia, who helped me polish my little knowledge of cricket and boxing. Remember, I came from a football background. I won the 1986 commentator of the year award because of him.”
Mosia also remembers the former Boxing South Africa (BSA) board member as a snazzy dresser, who was always carrying a diary.
“Two things about Dumile, he always had a diary and wore a jacket. You know in those days we went to work wearing suits and ties. Dumile wore the most expensive suits, shirts and ties. One other thing that I nearly forgot is that Dumile was not afraid to criticise people when they had not perfomed as per expectations,” Mosia remarked.
Mosia’s friendship with the deceased continued even after he returned to Gqeberha leaving Mateza in Johannesburg. Mosia even asked Mateza to mentor his son Thabiso, an SAfm sport presenter, when he moved from Gqeberha to Johannesburg.
“He was more like a guardian to my son. I even asked him to criticise Thabiso when the need to do so arose. He did exactly that,” Mosia said.
Meanwhile, Bacela, a one-time head of sport at Umhlobo Wenenefm and a former colleague of the deceased, revealed that Mateza was not a coward.
“He was energetic and still young when I first met him. I noticed that he was a real man and brooked no nonsense. He was straightforward and firm in whatever he believed in. He stood his ground against white bosses, who were in charge of our radio stations at the time. He was knowledgeable when it came to sport,” Bacela said.
