This archive report was first published on 4 July 2019.
On July 4, 2019, President Uhuru Kenyatta attended a memorial ceremony at All Saints Cathedral in Nairobi to pay his respects to the late Safaricom CEO Bob Collymore.
During the ceremony, the President revealed the details of their last conversation, which took place three weeks prior to Collymore's passing.
According to the President, Collymore had reached out to him while he was in Canada, and despite the time difference, Collymore had consistently tried to call him for two days in a row.
When the President finally picked up the call, Collymore expressed his desire to discuss something urgent, stating that he had made a promise to 'hang on for another year' with the company but would have to break that promise.
President Kenyatta noted that Collymore had insisted that their conversation remain confidential, leaving the President with many unanswered questions.
When the President returned from Canada, he called Collymore and met with him at his house, where Collymore revealed that he only had a few weeks to live.
As the President recalled, Collymore spoke with a smile on his face, saying 'I don’t have more than a couple of weeks to go.' He also declined the President's offer to seek further treatment, stating that he had tried everything and had accepted that his 'time had come.'
During their 3-hour conversation, Collymore shared his vision for Safaricom and the country, expressing concern about the moral fabric of society that had collapsed.
As the President reflected on their conversation, he wondered why a dying man would be so concerned about the company he was leaving behind and not himself.
