MTN's Ugandan Woes Deepen

MTN Uganda's CEO has been deported, becoming the fourth senior executive at the mobile operator to be sent packing from the eastern African country in recent weeks.

MTN confirmed that its CEO in Uganda, Wim Vanhelleputte, has been deported -- to where it did not say.

"To ensure business continuity, we have appointed Mr Gordian Kyomukama, currently Chief Technology Officer, as Acting Chief Executive. Our focus continues to be on delivering the best quality products and services to our customers," MTN said in a statement.

Vanhelleputte is the fourth MTN executive to be barred from Uganda in one month. According to MTN's official confirmation, on 19 January MTN Uganda's Chief Marketing Officer, Olivier Prentout, was arrested by police at Entebbe airport when he arrived from an overseas business trip. He was later deported to his native France.

Two days later, on 21 January, the company's Head of Sales and Distribution in Uganda, Annie Bilenge Tabura, was arrested by unidentified security personnel when she arrived at the MTN headquarters in Kampala. She was then deported to Rwanda, from where she hails.

Then on 22 January, Elsa Muzzolini, Head of Mobile Financial Services, was also deported from Uganda. No information was released by MTN on where Muzzolini, an Italian national, was sent.

The company is clearly irritated by the lack of clarity on why its executives are being kicked out of the country. "MTN has not been notified of the grounds for the deportation and is working hard to establish precise reasons for the deportation. We are understandably concerned about these developments and are engaging with the authorities to seek understanding that would lead us to resolving this matter," it said in the statement.

With other lawsuits and disputes eating up its time and resources, especially the never-ending saga in Nigeria, MTN can certainly do without these challenges in Uganda.

— Wei Shi, Site Editor, Connecting Africa