Dear Editor,
Robert (Bob) Collymore was born in Guyana in 1958, and moved to England as a teenager to join his mother. Robert entered the telecommunication business at British Telecom in 1978 and in 1998 he joined Vodafone and would later move to Asia. Vodafone subsequently appointed him governance director for Africa (Kenya) when he joined Safaricom in November 2010 and became its Chief Operations Officer (CEO). Safaricom became a leading communications company in Africa and pioneer of M-Pesa, the world’s most developed mobile payment – the little green Sim card that was meant to enable people call and text have now become little banks where one can save, borrow, send money and buy goods from wherever they are. The State Bank Governor said, he made the M-Pesa and its associated products a core part of Kenya’s infrastructure.
Despite being in charge of the most successful company that has been minting billions of shillings (106.80 Kenya shilling = U.S. $1.00) in profits for its shareholders, he was one of the most approachable CEO. While in Kenya, he learned a little Kiswahili enough to warm himself into the hearts of the youth who he easily interacted with. In 2017 Bob had taken ill and after numerous tests in Kenya, a doctor at Nairobi Hospital referred him to a specialist in London where he was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Sadly, after months of treatment for his illness, on July 1, 2019, Bob was called to rest. He received a state like funeral attended by the President of the Republic of Kenya, Uhuru Kenyatta, son of Kenya’s first president, Jomo, referred to affectionately as ‘Mezee” (respected elder).
Sincerely,
C A. Griffith
