Deportations at MTN

By the time Wim took the job in July 2016, he knew about these sorts of things. He had previously headed MTN Ivory Coast. Because he was an insider, he knew what had happened to his successor. Wim, therefore, appeared to have already planned on how to deal with the problems at the telecom when he arrived.

Also he had previously worked in Uganda, and is married to a Ugandan and was, therefore, a resident. Because of this he knew his way around the centres of power and did not need Katamba to network and lobby.

Finally, within just months on the job, he proposed a voluntary retirement for older staff. His target appeared those in senior management. And in total, about 100 staff had to leave the telecom. Within senior management, Phrase Lubega, the then General Manager Commercial Mobile Financial Services and others, left.

Wim had hoped that Katamba, who had clocked 13 years, would also leave, but Katamba stayed put.

So, insiders say, Wim devised another plan for Katamba. Sources tell The Independent that Wim told Katamba that for as long as he remained legal counsel, he would never get appointed CEO. So, Wim reportedly convinced Katamba to accept a role where, Wim told him, “You can gain some business experience”.

Katamba accepted the appointment Wim offered but also kept the legal counsel position too.

Meanwhile, Wim had already found a new legal counsel in a seasoned lawyer called Enid Edroma who had previously worked for Shell and was at the time working with the National Identification and Registration Authority (NIRA).

However, once she joined MTN, Katamba refused to hand over office to her. Apparently, he even threatened to sue MTN for advertising his job without his knowledge. Edroma ended up at HQ in South Africa.

Meanwhile, Wim had appointed other people. He had replaced some old hands with his new team. Among them was Olivier Prentout, who became CMO in July 2017, Elsa Mussolini, the mobile money general manager, the same month and Annie Tabura, the general manager for sales and distribution in April 2018.

Tensions that existed between Katamba and Wim, insiders claim, almost automatically extended to this group.

Then in December last year, insiders say, rumours started that four senior managers at MTN would be deported.

And on Jan.19, while returning from an MTN Group conference in Rwanda, Prentout and Tabura were stopped at Entebbe Airport.

While at the Immigration Desk, Prentout, was taken into one of the offices. He told Tabura not to wait for him as the officials were crosschecking something. He was not allowed into the country. He was deported that very night Jan.19.

Meanwhile, Tabura was also delayed but let through.

However, on Jan.20, two police vehicles came to her home but did not find her. When she asked to talk to them on the phone, they refused. She contacted the Rwanda ambassador.

Then on Jan.21, MTN Head Office called her and informed her that the police was looking for her. They assured her that the company’s lawyers were present. But as soon as she reached the basement parking lot, about 10 people with guns arrested her at about 9am.

She was taken to the Kireka-based Special Investigations Unit (SIU) and detained in a cell until about 6.30pm when she was picked up by a police vehicle and driven to Entebbe Airport. She was handed her passport, handbag and a boarding pass and put me on a RwandAir flight to Rwanda. Elsa Mussolini, the mobile money general manager, was also deported the following day. Insiders say she appeared at SIU with Wim that day. While she was deported that night, Wim was left to stay. It is at this point that diplomats from the French, Italian and Belgium embassies got involved. An insider said at all the other meetings with the authorities, Wim was treated respectful until the last meeting on Feb.14 when he was handcuffed.