News reaching our desk is that Safaricom CEO Bob Collymore has passed away. Collymore passed away at his Nairobi home on Monday morning after a long battle with Leukemia, a rare form of cancer that is curable.
“It is with deep sorrow that we announce the passing on of Robert William Collymore which occurred at his home on the morning of 1st July.” Safaricom Chairman Nicholas Nganga said through a statement to newsrooms.
Collymore has been battling Leukemia since 2017. He took a nine-month medical leave to return to his native England to battle the disease.
In April this year, Collymore announced plans to quit the company and concentrate on fighting with cancer. Collymore has passed on at the age of 61 and he is survived by a wife and four children.
During his tenure at Safaricom, he helped the company become the most profitable venture in East Africa thanks to MPESA and the growing customer share.
With close to 30 million subscribers, Safaricom controls about 62% of Kenya’s mobile market. During his tenure, shares of the company increased by more than 400 per cent to 28.00 shillings.
Collymore had recently said that he had confidence Safaricom would continue thriving even in his absence.
“I have every confidence that whether I’m here or not, that this company will run … This is an institution. It is not a company which is just run by a single person,” he said.
