Uhuru: My final four hours with Bob Collymore
President Uhuru Kenyatta has revealed emotional details of his last meeting with former Safaricom chief executive Bob Collymore in Nairobi a week before he died.
Speaking during Thursday’s memorial service at All Saints Cathedral, the president narrated how he spent four hours listening to an ailing Collymore speak about his vision for Safaricom.
This was despite Collymore knowing that he had a few days left of his life.
Collymore seemed more concerned about the future of the company than his own health, President Kenyatta said.
“He told me that he did not have more than a few weeks to go. So we spent a whole afternoon and I wondered why he was talking to me about Safaricom and not about himself.
“But he said that he had accepted that his chapter is closed and what he wants to know is the future of this company,” said Mr Kenyatta.
He added: “And we spent three, four hours talking about what he saw, his vision for the company, his dreams and what he thought I should be focused on. In terms of my own legacy, the focus on corruption, and we had a wonderful afternoon together. The only thing he said that I can do for him is taking care of Wambui and the kids.”
The president also revealed how the meeting was hastily convened after receiving a phone call from Collymore who informed him that he would not hang on to Safaricom long enough.
“Before meeting Bob, I had travelled to Canada and due to the time difference I received a phone call from him. I asked him why he was calling me at 2am in the morning. He apologised and then told me that he called to say that he would not be able to keep his promise of hanging on with the company for another year,” said President Kenyatta.