Controversial City lawyer Miguna Miguna has caused some online sensation after predicting of another looming ‘Uthamaki’ take over at the country’s biggest telco company Safaricom just hours after the death of Bob Collymore who was Safaricom’s current serving CEO.
While passing his condolence message for the sudden demise of Bob Collymore, Miguna through his Facebook account took issues with the next replacement of late Guyana born CEO observing that Safaricom PLC Board Chair Nicholas Ng’ang’a was poised to take over.
He cited the instances where members from one particular community (Mt. Kenya) have headed powerful parastatals in Kenya saying that Safaricom’s next CEO was definitely going to come from the same region.
Miguna singled out the case of Nicholas Ng’ang’a who is the Safaricom PLC Board’s chair, Ann Ndiritu heading the Registrar of Political Parties, Patrick Njoroge at the Central Bank of Kenya, James Githii Mburu who is the Kenya Revenue Authority’s Commissioner General, Kibicho at Interior and Thugge at Treasury.
“Safaricom PLC is the next Mafia CARTEL DEN for the institutionalization of impunity in Kenya,” he posted.
According to reports, Bob Collymore’s term in office was to come to an end in August 2018 when he was expected to step down but his contract was extended for one more year due to some misunderstandings on his preferred successor.
His announcement on May 23 that he had agreed to stay on for an additional year seemed to have quelled the debate over his succession, with forces within the government insisting that the next CEO should be a Kenyan. This according to sources, have never gone down well with South African based Vodacom company which still holds that a foreigner was better placed to succeed Collymore.
According to Miguna, the community’s bargaining power in the current government is likely to force for one of their own to take the mantle at East Africa’s biggest telco company.
Speaking at a press briefing on Monday morning, Safaricom chairman Nicholas Ng’ang’a said that the board is clear on the succession question. He maintained that the company was running smoothly and had no power vacuum after the demise of its CEO.
“Although the details of his (the late Collymore’s) condition were not always public, the board of directors was aware of the need to have a plan of succession in place, and we shall be giving the way forward in the next 24 hours,” said Mr Ng’ang’a at the briefing.
TV personality Jeff Koinange, a very close friend of Mr. Collymore, on Monday, while speaking on Citizen TV revealed that Safaricom was already in the process of installing a new CEO, after being informed by the late Collymore that he was unlikely to make it through the one-year extension.
Government interests in the replacement of the next CEO at the private company, however, left many tongues wagging with some saying that the government was likely developing some secret interests in the company which always plays a crucial part in transmitting of election results every electioneering period.
Bob Collymore passed away on Monday morning and is expected to be cremated on Tuesday at a private ceremony only restricted for family members and invited guests.