Safaricom interim CEO Michael Joseph has defended the decision by the company’s board to appoint him to the position following the death of Bob Collymore.
This comes after questions were raised on why the board did not settle on one of the Kenyan senior Safaricom officials.
Speaking during an interview with K24 TV on Tuesday evening, Joseph said the board was of the opinion that none of the top Safaricom officials were ready to fill in Collymore’s shoes at the moment.
The South African national insisted that he was only appointed on acting capacity as the board identifies a long-term successor.
“Safaricom has always been my company, it’s always been my baby; I nurtured it up to when I handed over to Bob. Now I’m just looking after it for a while, like a grandparent looking after the grandchild, until we appoint somebody else,” he stated.
“It’s not something new for me, I’m not having to start afresh, I’m well prepared for the role, but I must emphasize it is temporary.”
Joseph, who is the Chairman of Kenya Airways Board, further disclosed that the search for Collymore’s successor started 18 months ago but delayed due to demands and pressure from various corners.
“It was a worldwide search, including people in Kenya. And eventually, we came to a very short list, we came to a decision but we didn’t execute it because there was a concern as to whether the successor to Bob should be a Kenyan or not,” he said.
“And because there was some question about that, we decided to put it on hold for a while, and that’s why we asked Bob to stay for another year while we thought about how we could do it.”
Micheal you don’t have to…
Micheal you don’t have to justify anything. You are the right one for that position. If a Kenyan is elected we might as well forget safaricom ever existed. Start with leadership of the country and it’s history., nothing but theft. Kidero. Even the deputy cheif Justice its all about corruption. Please don’t let collymore legacy go down the hyenas mouth. Last and not least moha jicho Pevu the one we thought would clean up please became the biggest hynena and vulture. In short we need to be colonized again the whole country leadership is full of thieves
RUBBISH!
RUBBISH!
I’m hoping it’s a person…
I’m hoping it’s a person from out side Kenya because the corrupt goons will finish the only reliable company common mwananchi depends on best services, mpesa brought everyone to know banking please Nganga chunga sana who you had over the keys.Bob will rise if ever falls.
Let the best man/woman have…
Let the best man/woman have the job, Kenyan or foreigner. What we want is optimum service and not corruption in our organizations. Kenyan CEOS are notorious for theft, corruption and running down institutions. Countless are the numbers of those institutions. Most don’t care about providing service to the common person as long as they end up milking all the resources entrusted to them. I wouldn’t rush to make any of them a CEO of this giant company. Take your time Safaricom Board. There’s no emergency here.
Kenyan ‘Patriots’ led by…
Kenyan ‘Patriots’ led by Martha Karua, think that Safaricom, now that it is East Africa’s most Profitable Company, should be led by a ‘Kenyan’. They like the Prestige of a Kenyan, flying the flag. They quickly forget that before you fly the flag on top of a mountain, you first have to climb the mountain, and struggle to stay at the top. Michael Joseph climbed the mountain, when no ‘Kenyan’ was willing to do so. He passed the flag to Collymore, who unexpectedly, went to even greater heights. Should the ‘Patriots’ have a say in the flag bearer? It is up to Safaricom shareholders to decide. My advice is, if it is not broken, don’t fix it. The same system that hired Michael Joseph and Bob Collymore, should hire his successor. Without ANY interference.
“My people die for lack of…
“My people die for lack of knowledge” . Before you ask to be colonized again, learn what your forefathers went through under the white man. They were maimed, raped, sodomized, hanged, killed and their human and natural resources stolen by the so called whites (Edormites). Also learn what your so called “black brothers” have gone through in America for 400 years and in all other European countries where they were made slaves. Learn the reasons why black Americans die every day.
We have not even revisited the mass graves in our country that we currently sit on as a result of colonization.
If you know who your are and know your history, you would not have a cavalier attitude towards white supremacy or colonization.
May the Most High take care of business.
We wish him well. But do not…
We wish him well. But do not ask for re-colonization if you do not know what it was all about!!
Hear, hear! @ AnonymousUI. …
Hear, hear! @ AnonymousUI. One of Bob Collymore fav books was according to him – “Uncle Ben’s Cabin”. I suggest those so quick to say we have an inferior mentality to read it, then perhaps the mindset may falter.
We all want Safaricom to do…
We all want Safaricom to do well post Bob Collymore but the words of Michael Joseph, “—like a grandparent looking after the grandchild” reminds us of the patarnalistic attitude of the white man toward the African. Did you know that in 1924 J.W. Arthur, a missionary represented the interests of the African in the Kenya Legico (legislative assembly)? In 1884-5, without a single African in attendance, European nation’s met at the Berlin conference and divided Africa into spheres of influence for themselves. They regarded an African to be a child who cannot decide for self- exactly the same attitude Joseph has artticulated regarding Kenyans maturity to run Safaricom. According to Joseph, for 18 long months they searched for a suitable Kenyan to run Safaricom and finding none, they dragged dying Collymore back to work and begged him for one more year of service. What they didn’t know is that Bob didn’t have an year left to live. Now that all the Kenyans rank and file, the board members of Safaricom don’t have a single grown man; Joseph calls them grandchildren, he, Joseph, who also has cancer will steer the ship again. We just hope, that unlike poor Collymore, he, Joseph, has an year left to live. My point is,if we think we cannot, we’re right and if we think we can, we’re right again. Sadly, we’ve looked up to others especially if they are foreign and white, to do things for us: FBI to run after our local criminals, Chinese to build our trains and railway lines and dams, Americans to build our highways and even the french people to operate brookside milk that is grown at home. I hear that we are planning to hand over the Mombasa ports and harbor to the Swiss people because, we us children can’t figure it out. What’s long with us, as Africans??
I don’t think he was…
I don’t think he was referring to Kenyans as grand children. He stated very clearly that he was the founder of Safaricom (the company). That makes Safaricom his baby. He took good care of this baby until someone else by the name Collymore took over. Because he’s back again to the same company I don’t see anything wrong with the analogy. Kenyans/ Africans love to wait for someone else to till the land, weed the crop and when it’s ready for harvesting, they begin to sneak in fake nationalism. The fact is that if this company is left in the hands of those hyenas you call Kenyans, it will follow the fate of KQ under Naikuni.
@Mike, you are right ours is…
@Mike, you are right ours is a most difficult position, yet a very simple one – as someone once said, “if you think you can, you’re right and if you think you cannot, you’re also right”. Our biggest problem is that we don’t love our country enough. Patriotism must be taught because you can’t truly love me and at the same time rob me blind. There are some companies that are locally owned and operated yet they perform at a very high standard, same as say Caucasian ran companies; for example,the Equity bank among others. I believe we can change the current evil and corrupt mentality in our nation but it’s not going to be easy. We just have to find a way of turning these hyenas into some responsible human beings that care about our people and country.
I don’t think he was…
I don’t think he was referring to Kenyans as grand children. He stated very clearly that he was the founder of Safaricom (the company). That makes Safaricom his baby. He took good care of this baby until someone else by the name Collymore took over. Because he’s back again to the same company I don’t see anything wrong with the analogy. Kenyans/ Africans love to wait for someone else to till the land, weed the crop and when it’s ready for harvesting, they begin to sneak in fake nationalism. The fact is that if this company is left in the hands of those hyenas you call Kenyans, it will follow the fate of KQ under Naikuni.
We all want Safaricom to do…
We all want Safaricom to do well post Bob Collymore but the words of Michael Joseph, “—like a grandparent looking after the grandchild” reminds us of the patarnalistic attitude of the white man toward the African. Did you know that in 1924 J.W. Arthur, a missionary represented the interests of the African in the Kenya Legico (legislative assembly)? In 1884-5, without a single African in attendance, European nation’s met at the Berlin conference and divided Africa into spheres of influence for themselves. They regarded an African to be a child who cannot decide for self- exactly the same attitude Joseph has artticulated regarding Kenyans maturity to run Safaricom. According to Joseph, for 18 long months they searched for a suitable Kenyan to run Safaricom and finding none, they dragged dying Collymore back to work and begged him for one more year of service. What they didn’t know is that Bob didn’t have an year left to live. Now that all the Kenyans rank and file, the board members of Safaricom don’t have a single grown man; Joseph calls them grandchildren, he, Joseph, who also has cancer will steer the ship again. We just hope, that unlike poor Collymore, he, Joseph, has an year left to live. My point is,if we think we cannot, we’re right and if we think we can, we’re right again. Sadly, we’ve looked up to others especially if they are foreign and white, to do things for us: FBI to run after our local criminals, Chinese to build our trains and railway lines and dams, Americans to build our highways and even the french people to operate brookside milk that is grown at home. I hear that we are planning to hand over the Mombasa ports and harbor to the Swiss people because, we us children can’t figure it out. What’s long with us, as Africans??
The people calling out…
The people calling out Michael Joseph the loudest are the same ones who elect corrupt leaders and also the same ones who cry out the loudest when dire effects of corruption kick in! Mnataka nini? Wakenya jamani?
Wengi wetu twataka haki, sio…
Wengi wetu twataka haki, sio utumwa! @ Mgeni
Then haki should reflect on…
Then haki should reflect on all facets of life. If we elected leaders who were truly responsible and had the interests of mwananchi at heart, then we wouldn’t have the same old tired Cooporate faces in every key leadership positions. People wouldn’t get jobs based on a small intimate circle of friends who take advantage of a struggling democracy and economy like Kenya. It is a fact that Kenyans vote along tribal lines and the effects of this is what we are experiencing right now. It wasn’t any different this past elections when Jubilee was voted in by people who are always at the forefront complaining about leadership, corrupt, nepotistic and unqualified officials, yet they will repeat this if elections were held today. Nani aliroga watu? We wouldn’t have had this discussion if we had an administration which was devoid of corruption and/or nepotism.
@Mgeni, we can bemoan the…
@Mgeni, we can bemoan the cycle of corruption until the cows come home and leave at dusk, but the fact is: The answer to this culture of deceit is a collective responsibility. As individuals, citizens, family, etc…our vote should reflect our values, and we should strive to stump out corruption by our practice, by drumming honesty into our children, education establishments and collectively boot out the corrupt leaders who continue to cling to power long after their analogue arses have expired!