Safaricom CEO Peter Ndegwa breaks silence on exit rumours

Safaricom Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Peter Ndegwa has come out to address social media reports that he is set to exit the telco giant following the election of a new Board Chairman, coming on the back of a new government in place.

Lawyer Adil Arshed Khawaja was on Thursday unanimously elected the new Safaricom Board Chairman effectively immediately, replacing perceived former President Uhuru Kenyatta ally John Ngumi who resigned early this year.

Mr. Ndegwa, speaking during an interview on Citizen TV on Thursday night, seemingly implied that the decision about whether he leaves or stays at the telco is made by people above his pay grade.

According to the Safaricom CEO, the company’s Board, and by extension the new Chairman, have the final say on who leads the telco giant into the future.

He however remained adamant that he has, over the past three years of his service, enjoyed a fairly good run and will continue to perform his role until otherwise decided.

“There is social media speculation, you know when you run a business of the size of Safaricom, just like a football team, there will always be views about what is happening to the manager, the captain and so on...But, from where I stand, the decisions about my role are usually for the board, and now that we have a new Chairman I’m sure it is a question that can be asked both to the Board and the Chairman,” he stated.

“What I do know is that I’ve had a vey successful three years; I came in at a time when this country was faced with Covid, we’re a company that has served the country, kept the country connected, and now we’re converting ourselves into a purpose-led technology company.”

He further stated: “We’ve run the company very well, we’ve gone into Ethiopia, which is a major milestone for this business, we’ve launched 5G...I plan to continue playing the role that I’ve played for the future, because the management is focused on ensuring that this business continues to transform lives and play its role in Kenya. I will continue to lead this business to the future.”