Deportations at MTN

Whistleblower `unmasks’ Katamba

Meanwhile, back at MTN a whistleblower circulated a two-page note to “all MTN directors and managers’.

It claimed that MTN was harbouring a criminal and needed to disassociate itself from the General Manager of Corporate Services, Anthony Katamba.

“From the position I hold,” the whistleblower’s note reads, “I have access to all that is going on 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 alleges that Katamba had bragged in the “MTN corridors” some weeks before the deportations that he was going to get four top executives in MTN Uganda deported. He allegedly said they were playing with his power in the company and that he is the real CEO.

The whistleblower also noted that Justice Lawrence Gidudu’s ruling on December 10, 2015 implicated Katamba and former Flying Squad Commander Nixon Agasirwe of torturing a one Mr Sentongo (accused with former MTN Uganda Head of Public Access and Mobile Money, Richard Mwami of embezzling billions of money from the company).

“This shows you that you are harbouring a criminal and MTN need to disassociate itself NOW from this sadistic criminal who has only been pursuing 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 note reads.

Insiders say Katamba was suspected of causing the deportation of the three managers after it emerged that information only he could access with the three others was what security operatives were using to interrogate his colleagues.

For instance, insiders claim that Katamba belonged to a Whatsapp chat group with the three senior managers. They had created the group to discuss how to deal with both OTT and Mobile Money tax.

As the biggest telecom, MTN was leading efforts to challenge the two taxes as it was feared they would negatively impact both their mobile money transfer and data businesses. The MTN team even appeared before a parliamentary committee in efforts to lobby against the tax.

On the Whatsapp chat group, they were sharing ideas on how to lobby and what other measures to take in a bid to get government to review its measures.

But while being interrogated, some of the deported MTN managers were shown messages from this group. The Independent understands that security operatives that interrogated the deported officials asked them about funding Kyadondo East Legislator Kyagulanyi Sentamu. Mussolini was accused of inciting violence by funding Bobi Wine.

Katamba was also the only other member of the group who was never invited for interrogation or arrested.

If this was not enough evidence for MTN officials, Katamba appeared to confirm them by, according to sources within MTN, threatening the CEO.

“He sent the CEO a message saying he would deport him just like the three others,” an insider told The Independent on conditions of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter at the company. Those close to Katamba claim he denies all this. When contacted by this reporter on Feb.18, Katamba declined to comment.

On Feb.12, however, reports emerged that Wim had fired Katamba. The company has not explained Katamba’s firing and Wim efforts to get a comment from Wim remained futile. Company lawyers who were with Wim the day he was deported had not responded to our queries by press time.

However, insiders say following the threat the CEO fired Katamba. Then, two days later, Wim was summoned to police. He had arrived at the Kireka-based Special Investigations Unit (SIU) in the company of company lawyer, Barnabas Tumusingize by about 11am. But even by 4pm, sources close to the matter say, they had not been attended to. By 6pm, they were still at SIU.

Eventually when Wim was interrogated, the first question reportedly was: “Why are people who were deported still working?”

Apparently, Wim explained that first of all, they had not handed over when they were deported, so, they had to handover. He added that while they had been deported from Uganda, they were still employees of MTN Group.

The Independent understands that the deported staff had continued to work in virtual space—and were accessing the company cloud. Wim, who hired them and had been working closely with them, had continued to work with them. He had just returned from a business trip in Dubai where he had met these officials. It is not clear whether he was supposed to but Katamba did not attend this meeting.

At this point, insiders claim, Wim suspected that it was Katamba who had passed on the information partly because he is among the few in the company with such high level access. He is the one who had just threatened to deport him. After the interrogation, Wim was driven straight to Entebbe and deported that very night. Exactly two days after he sacked Katamba.