New details have emerged about the ‘sacking’ of Anthony Katamba at MTN Uganda.
In a two-page letter to ‘All MTN directors and managers’ seen by Watchdog Uganda, a whistle blower claims that ‘MTN has been harbouring a criminal’ and that the company needs to disassociate itself’ from the now sacked General Manager of Corporate Services.
Katamba was sacked on Tuesday after allegedly threatening the company CEO, Wim Vanhelleputte and ‘refusing to write a resignation letter’.
“He crossed the line when he said the CEO would also be deported like three other former MTN honchos,” the source told Watchdog on Tuesday evening.
However, it has now emerged that Vanhelleputte was not the only person Katamba had threatened with ‘firing’.
According to a whistleblower, an insider to Katamba’s department, every employee at MTN Uganda had become scared of Katamba, who was also chairman Charles Mbiire’s most trusted manager.
“From the position I hold, I have access to all that is going and I think it is time I highlight some of the issues. After I witnessed what my colleagues went through at the mercy of one man, we are all scared,” the whistleblower writes.
“He bragged in the corridors some weeks ago that he was going to get FOUR top executives in MTN Uganda deported because they ore playing with his power in the company and that he is the real CEO. He has done it and all the staff are now insecure and we are wondering whose orders we shall listen to now.”
The whistleblower also accuses Katamba of being instrumental in the corruption cases in the company.
“Ask all suppliers, he demands kickbacks before he approves your contract and this is done right in front of our eyes. He even gets payments from legal firms that we give work,” the whistle blower writes, adding that Justice Lawrence Gidudu’s ruling on December 10, 2015 clearly implicated Katamba and policeman Nixon Agasirwe of torturing a one Mr Sentongo (accused with Richard Mwami’s of embezzling billions of money from the company).
Agasirwe is a former commander of Police Special Operations who is charged with abducting Rwandans.
“This shows you that you are harbouring a criminal and MTN need to disassociate itself NOW from this sadistic criminal who has only been perusing his personal agenda in the company. He has with Nixon been compromising engineers in the company to erase call data records to protect criminal activities in the country,” the letter reads.
Katamba had risen through the MTN Uganda ranks since joining the company, including Head of Legal and Communications since joining in 2003.
A number of top bosses at MTN have been deported from Uganda since the year began.
Last month, three MTN Uganda officials were deported.
They included Chief Marketing Officer Olivier Prentout, a French national and the MTN General Manager for Sales and Distribution, Anne Tabura. Elsa Mussolini, the head of Mobile Money was deported a day after Prentout and Tabura had been accused of allegedly getting involved in acts aimed at compromising the Country’s national security.
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