Tanzanian radio presenter the later Gardner Habash (left) and his ex-wife Lady JayDee. PHOTO | NMG
Tanzanian radio presenter Gardner Habash, who was the former husband of Bongo flava legend Lady JayDee, is dead.
Mr Habash died on Saturday morning at the age of 51 while receiving treatment at the Jakaya Kikwete Cardiac Institute in Dar es Salaam.
The veteran media personality had been hospitalised at the facility for several days after he was taken ill with high blood pressure.
Until his demise, ‘Captain’, as he was fondly known thanks to his late-night show ‘Jahazi’, had been working at Clouds FM for more than 15 years.
“Clouds Media Group is saddened to announce the death of Gardner Habash, which happened this morning,” Clouds FM said in a statement.
Gardner made a name for himself early in life as a charming radio presenter, before he met and started dating Lady JayDee.
The couple wedded in 2005 after four years of dating.
During their marriage, the couple was idolised by their legion of fans and became the most talked about celebrity couple in Tanzanian showbiz.
In East Africa, the couple was only rivaled by fellow celebrity couples Nameless and Wahu (Kenya) and Bebe Cool and his model wife Zuena (Uganda) at the time.
The marriage lasted nine years with Lady JayDee filing for divorce in 2016 after they separated the previous year.
In an interview in 2016, Lady JayDee shared details of how nasty her separation and eventual divorce turned out to be.
Lady JayDee accused her ex-husband of infidelity and alcoholism maintaining that it was the reason she chose to walk away.
Although the two would later patch their differences and start hanging out together, JayDee dismissed reports that they had rekindled their old flame.
Gardner was no stranger to controversies, and from time to time gave the Tanzanian showbiz industry something to talk about.
He is survived with one child – singer and entrepreneur Malkia Karen from a previous relationship.
