Veteran personality Bob Mabena, 51, dies

Veteran and Iconic radio personality Bob Mabena has passed away.

With a career spanning over 31 years he was one of the country’s most well-known radio stars.

Bob also raced professionally and released several albums, one of which earned him a Sama award.

Given Mkhari, chairman of POWER 98.7 and MSG Afrika, on Monday confirmed that radio veteran Bob Mabena has died.

The 51-year-old hosted some of South Africa’s biggest radio shows with a career spanning over 31 years.

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According to a report by Daily Sun, the radio host died following a short illness that saw him end up in hospital after having trouble breathing.

His cause of death has been confirmed as cardiac arrest.

Born West of Pretoria in 1969, Bob started his radio career in 1989 in the then Republic of Bophuthatswana with the now defunct Radio Bop.

After spending three years in North West and having ventured into television as well he was recruited by Koos Radebe, Radio Metro station manager, to the national radio station.

Bob’s stint at Radio Metro brought with it more national exposure in the form of a variety of TV shows, including Pick a Tune and Studio Mix, to mention a few.

While at Radio Metro, Bob raced professionally in the Group N series for Nissan South Africa.

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He was also a singer and released several albums, on of which earned him a Sama award in 1997. In July, to celebrate his birthday, Bob released a 12-track album titled Jammers House Volume 1. The album includes nostalgic hits such as Sing it Back, I Love the Way You Love Me and Share My Love.

Bob was most recently at MSG Afrika as station manager of POWER 98.7 where he also hosted the POWER Breakfast Show. He was also the Group Head of Programming at MSG, according to his biography on his website.