Is Safaricom planning to replace Ndegwa with Oigara as its CEO?

More managerial changes are still looming at Safaricom PLC days after board chairman John Ngumi was forced out, barely six months after taking over from Michael Joseph, a former CEO and board chairman who is still calling shots at the giant telco.

The restructuring of the company recently saw board chairman being shown the door to concentrate on developing green energy across Africa.

But according to a notice from Safaricom’s secretary Kathryne Maundu, Ngumi ‘resigned’ on December 22 and paved way for Safaricom Board to select a new chair in coming weeks.

“John leaves the board to focus on developing green energy generation across Africa with an emphasis on green energy,” Maundu wrote.

Selection of the new board chairperson will be accompanied by appointment of a new chief executive officer becuase Peter Ndegwa’s tenure has been accussed of underperformance and serving the interest of retired regimes. Ndegwa was accused of sharing locations and other details of top leaders in the current government with the NIS in the run-up to last general elections.

He literally allowed Safaricom to give killer squads personal details and locations of individuals allied to Kenya Kwanza Alliance hence supporting extrajudicial killings. The regime of the day has no confidence in him since he is among those who ganged up with Azimio outfits to frustrate chances of Kenya Kwanza Alliance forming government.

Ndegwa’s leadership has also seen Safaricom profits falling and his tenure said to be benefitting competitors like Airtel Kenya due to his concentration on misplaced projects including the rushed expansion to Ethiopia. He is the first Kenya to lead the giant company and he will also become the CEO with the shortest term and nothing major to boast of.

He landed the job in 2020, months after Michael Joseph served on interim basis following the death of former CEO, Bob Collymore, in 2019. His exit will not be different from Ngumi’s which was evident after the new administration was sworn in and he became a no-show in a series of key Safaricom’s events including the launch of commercial 5G and the Ethipiopian launch.

Ndegwa now regrets leaving his job at Diageo, UK with talks rife that he has to exit Eastern Africa’s most profitable and enviable business.

One of the top names being touted to replace him is that of Joshua Nyamweya Oigara, the former CEO of Kenya commercial Bank who is credited with super efficiency and corporate discipline. Oigara has been seen as the best Kenyan to occupy the Safaricom CEO position since the passing of Collymore in 2019.