Tributes pour in for veteran radio star Bob Mabena
Tributes flooded social media on Monday afternoon following the death of radio and TV veteran Bob Mabena.
Mabena died after suffering from cardiac arrest. News of his death was confirmed in a statement.
“It is with deep grief and pain that we announce that Power 98.7 Breakfast Host, Mr Bob Mabena passed away this afternoon, Monday 10 August 2020, from cardiac arrest,” it read.
It added that the Mabena family was “coming to terms with his passing” and respectfully requested the public to afford them the appropriate space to mourn.
With a career that spans over three decades, Mabena was known for hosting a wide variety of television shows and for his radio tenures at Metro FM, Kaya FM and Highveld Stereo.
Mabena burst on to the scene in 1989 at the age of just 19 when he landed the afternoon drive show on Radio Bophuthatswana (Radio Bop). Most recently he was a morning drive show host on Power 98.7.
He started a TV career, hosting music show On the Beat, Surf Pick a Box game show and the popular Studio Mix with Melanie Son (now Bala).
Mabena recently lost his grandmother to Covid-19 and took to social media to pay tribute to her.
Many took to social media to pay tribute to the star. Among them was actress Pearl Thusi, who wrote: “As soon as we thought this year couldn’t get any worse ... Bob Mabena passed away. Rest in peace, Mr Mabena.”
In an interview with the Sowetan, which was published last Friday, Mabena spoke about the release of a 12-track music compilation, Jammers House Volume 1, which he described as a legacy project. The compilation is available on all streaming platforms.
“It is repositioning the work that I’ve done throughout the years in the dance music field and also reminding people that, before I was a radio presenter, I was actually a club DJ.”
In the interview, Mabena spoke of his love for travel and shared some of his favourite spots. “For the past few years, my wife and I travel every October for our anniversary. We’d plan for 12 months — pick a spot, make the payment and then go. We’ve done Thailand, Spain, Turkey and Japan. I pick one year and the next year she picks. This year I picked Vietnam, but we had to cancel.”