Tributes poured in from operators, colleagues and political leaders for Safaricom CEO Bob Collymore (pictured), who died today (1 July) at the age of 61 following a battle with acute myeloid leukaemia.

Kenya’s leading operator announced the news in a statement, which read: “On behalf of the board of Safaricom, we extend our deepest condolences to his family, staff of Safaricom, partners and the nation at large who he served selflessly and with joy.”

Collymore took the helm of Safaricom in November 2010 and was still in charge at the time of his death.

During his tenure the company continued its dominance of the country’s mobile sector and expanded the scope of its m-Pesa mobile money product, widely accepted as one of the pioneering and most successful deployments of mobile financial services in the world.

The executive took a number of months of medical leave at the turn of 2018, but earlier this year he extended his contract to 2020 having been initially expected to leave the post in August.

Following the announcement today officials, colleagues and rival operators offered tributes.

Kenyan president Uhuru Kenyatta described him as a “visionary and exceptional leader”. Telekom Kenya CEO Mugo Kibati added Collymore was a “steadfast colleague, visionary and mentor who’s foresight earned Kenya’s telco industry a place on the global map.”