Safaricom CEO Bob Collymore Passes Away in Nairobi

Safaricom Chief Executive Officer Bob Collymore has passed away in Nairobi aged 61.

In a statement on Monday, Safaricom said Collymore succumbed to cancer at his residence in Nairobi.

“It is with deep sorrow that we announce the passing away of Robert (Bob) William Collymore CEO of Safaricom PLC which occurred at his home on the morning of July 1, 2019,” the statement read.

Safaricom Chairman Nicholas Ng’ang’a said Collymore had been undergoing treatment in different hospitals and most recently, Aga Khan Hospital in Nairobi.

He leaves behind a wife, Wambui Kamiru and four children. Collymore and Wambui got married in 2016.

President Kenyatta sent a message of condolence to Collymore’s family and friends.

“It is with deep sadness that I have this morning received news of the death of Safaricom CEO Bob Collymore after years of battling cancer. As a country, we’ve lost a distinguished corporate leader whose contribution to our national wellbeing will be missed,” State House said in a statement.

He was set to leave Safaricom in August this year but the telecommunications company extended his contract by one more year.

Collymore, who took over Safaricom in 2010, is credited for overseeing the launch of mobile cash transfer service, M-Pesa, which has helped the telco become East Africa’s most profitable company.

In late 2017, Collymore took a nine-month medical leave to seek cancer treatment in the United Kingdom.

Collymore was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia- a type of cancer that starts in the blood-forming cells of the bone marrow. He underwent a bone marrow transplant at a London hospital.