I have always wanted to say that ever since I saw Media Madness use the phase.

Anyway, the lion has indeed roared at Safaricom in what in-house sources inform us was a shake up that rocked the virtual monopoly to the core.

Senior management were shown the door and an email was sent by no less than the CEO himself, Bob Collymore.

According to our source, there have been rumours of fraud and graft wafting through the Safaricom HQ like a bad stench and this caused more than just "disquiet". Bob Collymore had to make a move not just to stamp his authority but to protect shareholders and indeed the company.

We have however been met by a wall of silence as our enquiries have gone unconfirmed by independent source but what we can say with a measure of certainty is that heads have rolled.

This was the email sent round by none other than the head honcho:

Dear Colleagues,

I wish to announce some changes to the Senior Leadership of the company. These changes have been necessitated by an appreciation that we as a business have become disconnected from our customers’ needs at various levels. We therefore have to repurpose ourselves towards delivering a truly differentiated value proposition for our customers that is based on three key pillars: i.) Superior customer insights, ii.) Operational excellence in our market execution and lastly iii.) The delivery of great products and services.

After 11 years of dedicated service to Safaricom, Peter Arina, General Manager Consumer Business will be leaving the company to pursue other interests. Peter has contributed to the company’s strong commercial performance and during his tenure at Safaricom we have seen the phenomenal growth of non-voice revenue streams such as mobile data, PRS VAS and of course the now famous Skiza portfolio.

It is also time for us to bid farewell to Ms. Pauline Warui, Director, Customer Management, who has opted to step down from her role to pursue personal business interests. Pauline has held the role for the last 7 years, during which time , we have seen the implementation of aggressive call reduction initiatives, launching of innovative customer touch points and of course global recognition for the great work of our call center team.

As part of implementing our talent succession plans, it is my pleasure to announce the following appointments which take effect immediately:-

Sylvia Mulinge, will be taking over as General Manager, Consumer Business while Rita Okuthe will move from her current role as Director of Marketing to take over the position of General Manager, Enterprise Business Unit.

I’m also particularly proud to announce that Janet Atika will move from her current role as head of our retail shop footprint to take charge of the Customer Management team.

In order to bring effect to these changes and to ensure seamless business continuity at all levels of the business, I have also made the following appointments within Band E :-

1. James Muteti has been promoted to Head of The Consumer Sales Department and will be reporting in to the GM, Consumer Business ;

2. Victor Ngumo makes a lateral transfer to take up the role of Head of Retail, reporting in to the GM Consumer Business.

3. Arjun Singh Dhillon will take up the combined role of Head Of SME & Channels reporting in to the GM Enterprise Business

4. Eric Acholla will coordinate the activities of all shared Marketing services which include Brand, Media, Research, Events, Sponsorships and Activations, Eric will report into the General Manager for Enterprise Business while all marketing product managers will report into the GM Consumer Business for marketing direction.

These changes are necessary for us to be truly reflective of the demands of our customers and to prepare ourselves for the heightened competitive environment in which we are operating.

As we congratulate the new appointees, please join me in thanking Peter Arina and Pauline Warui for their service and wishing them all the best as they pursue their new paths.

Regards,

Bob Collymore

CEO