Radio and TV veteran Bob Mabena has died after suffering a cardiac arrest on Monday.
News of his death was confirmed in a statement to TshisaLIVE.
“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 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.
Tributes to the star flooded social media on Monday.
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.”
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