Safaricom CEO Bob Collymore Eyes Return after Improved Health Status

Safaricom Chief Executive Officer Bob Collymore has given an update about his health status. In a five-minute video uploaded to the mobile service provider's intranet, Collymore said he is responding positively to treatment and is eyeing a return to the company.

“As you can see I have put a little weight on; ten kilogrammes to be precise. My wife’s cooking is clearly doing fantastic work with that,” he said in a video reportedly recorded in London where he is being treated for an undisclosed ailment.

“The medical team are also doing pretty well...I'm actually in pretty good shape. I’ve got one last procedure to go through which we expect to start in the next few weeks and then comes the monitoring after that.”

Collymore further noted that his condition can’t be monitored in Nairobi and that his doctors won't allow him travel by air until they give him a clean bill of health.

In October last year, the telecommunications firm announced that Collymore was taking an extended medical leave to seek specialised treatment abroad.

Collymore said he has continuously been engaging the company's management team and Board of Directors via video link from the United Kingdom.

“Last year was a very challenging year for Safaricom. We had the prolonged electioneering period which dampened economic activity. We had the resist movement which didn’t help and presented a lot of challenges for our colleagues in the regional sales operations,” he said. 

In October last year, Safaricom chairman Nicholas Ng’ang’a announced Collymore was taking a medical leave “for a few months.”

“On behalf of the board, management and the entire Safaricom community, I wish Bob quick recovery and look forward to him resuming his duties as soon as the doctors allow him to do so,” Mr Ng’ang’a had said.

Safaricom chief financial officer Sateesh Kamath assumed Collymore's roles supported by Joseph Ogutu – the telco's director of Strategy and Innovation.