Safaricom Sacks its Marketing Director Over Under-Performance

Safaricom’s Director of Customer Care and Marketing Strategy, a Mr Maurice Newa who joined the company in August 2011 has reportedly been sacked. Maurice who was still on probation could not have resigned as claimed in the official circles. Rumours are abound that the Maurice was forced to resign after staff appraisal was conducted where his performance was brought into focus.

It is not clear how Safaricom came to recruit a very green foreigner who had never held similar positions locally or regionally to take up such a strategic position which is always supposed to be held by locals, according to the country’s labour laws. But Maurice who never worked in Kenya before could not handle the marketing docket. He has indicated in his resignation that he is resigning because of “personal reasons”.

The position of marketing was formerly under Peter Arina who has now taken up all the duties of the Director of Customer care and Marketing Strategy and merged it with the General Manager – Consumer Business Unit duties.

Maurice who is a Malawian is a graduate of London Business School and previously worked at Celtel, Coca-Cola, Unilever and Carlsberg Breweries.

Safaricom is also positioning itself to restructure the IT/Technical department. The mobile communications giant is rumoured to be at an advanced stage of reducing the HODs in the Technical?IT departments to 4.

We have sought word from Safaricom over the management changes and when we get them, we will update.