MTN board backs CEO Ralph Mupita amid favoritism allegations

Pan-African operator MTN Group has come out in support of Group President and CEO Ralph Mupita after favoritism allegations surfaced in the media.

MTN put out a statement on Friday in response to recent media reports "regarding allegations of complaints against members of the Group's executive," confirming that an independent review had found no wrongdoing by the CEO.

MTN said that the Group board held a special meeting on Wednesday September 4, 2024, to deliberate on a report by an independent law firm, assisted by counsel, tasked to verify allegations contained in an anonymous complaint against members of the MTN executive.

"The independent report stated that attempts to engage with the complainant were unsuccessful and found that there was no evidence of improper conduct by those cited in the complaint," MTN said.

This followed a report in The Sunday Times newspaper on September 1, 2024, that an unspecified number of executives had alleged that Mupita was giving preferential treatment to a female executive and were threatening to quit.

Bloomberg later reported that nine of MTN's executives had signed a memorandum backing the CEO, but did not identify the executives or the source of the information.

According to MTN's website the group has 16 executives, including Mupita, and only four of them are women.

MTN board supports CEO

"In its deliberations, the Board accepted the Report finding and is of the view that the matter has been addressed and is now closed. The Board further expressed its full support for the Group Chief Executive Officer and the MTN strategy," MTN said on the matter.

A report by an independent law firm found no evidence of improper conduct by members of the MTN executive team after investigating allegations made in an anonymous complaint. (Source: MTN Group)

Mupita has been Group CEO at MTN since September 2020 when he moved from CFO to CEO, taking over from Rob Shuter who decided not to renew his contract with the operator after almost four years as CEO.

Mupita joined MTN in April 2017 as Group CFO and before that spent five years as the CEO of Old Mutual Emerging Markets.

This latest drama adds to MTN's recent woes. Last month the company reported a half-year loss as the sharp devaluation of the Nigerian naira and ongoing conflict in Sudan negatively impacted its earnings.

In August 2024, Mupita also explained MTN's reasons for selling its operations in Guinea-Bissau and Guinea-Conakry which are deemed too small and unable to fund their own growth.

— Paula Gilbert, Editor, Connecting Africa