I am a Cancer Survivor, Says Safaricom Interim CEO Michael Joseph

Acting Safaricom CEO Michael Joseph says he battled cancer during his stint at the telecommunications company between 2000 and 2010.

Joseph shared details of his battle with the disease during an interview with K24 TV on Tuesday evening.

Joseph, who has returned to the mobile service provider as interim CEO following the death of Bob Collymore, said he was diagnosed with colon cancer in 2003.

He was declared cancer-free after undergoing treatment for several months.

"Not many people know that am also a cancer survivor and that I was diagnosed with cancer in 2003 while still CEO of Safaricom. I am now a cancer survivor," Joseph said.

Joseph was responding to a question about his plans on cancer, which has claimed the lives of many people in the country including former Safaricom CEO Collymore.

Collymore died at his Nairobi residence on Monday morning after battling with Acute Myeloid Leukemia, a rare type of cancer, for about two years.

"I don't have any direct plans to do that (set up a cancer center) although they should probably know that Safaricom Foundation has spent a lot of money in the health field." 

"I am sure in the memory of Bob (Collymore), we will do more now in terms of preventing and helping the treatment of cancer," stated Joseph.

In an earlier interview with The Standard, Joseph said he at some point run the company from a hospital bed.

“It was a long drawn out affair and for some time, I ran Safaricom from a hospital bed. People would bring me advertisements to approve and all that and then they would be worried because I had tubes running all over my body,” Joseph explained.