More than 10 Kenyan companies collapsed immediately CEOs of Kenyan origin were appointed. Sadly, even with financial boost from the government, none of these companies resurrected.
One questions almost every Kenyan ask themselves, is it that Kenya has naturally poor managers or it’s bad luck? The answer for this is that everyone who joins the profit making state owned institutors wants to eat; they are less concerned about the plight of workers and their clients.
One of our readers painfully opines:
“I worked in uchumi godowns in Nairobi and I can’t tell you Kirubi and company failed that giant supermarket. He used to call us(workers)thieves yet the management was the one stealing. How can you import greeting card worth billions instead of stocking fast movable goods? That is how our uchumi went under with our lives and savings and we had nowhere to complain”
Safaricom has just announced their new CEO, Peter Ndegwa, who possess a colorful CV. What shocked many is the negative energy Kenyans expressed towards this appointment. Nearly all of them said, “RIP Safaricom”.
The common behavior among Kenyan CEOs is that immediately they join a well performing company, they sack individuals from other tribes and recruit from their ethnic background, friends and relatives who will not object to their stealing culture.
If you are wondering how many Kenyan companies have collapsed in the hands of Kenyan CEOs, below is the list:
- Kenya Airways
- Eveready
- Mumias
- Uchumi
- Nakumatt
- Nzoia Sugar
- Pan paper
- East African Portland Cement
East African Portland Cement announced in 2019 that it will sack all its workers after it became increasingly difficult to operate. That simply means that the company will close its operations soon. Mumias Sugar was a profitable company before Evans Kidero,a man with a decorated CV,joined it as the CEO and ate almost everything.Mumias is now operating on losses.
Kenya Airways posted a loss of Ksh 5.9 billion in 2018 up from Ksh 5.1 in 2018.Before the current CEO Sebastian Mikosz joined the airline, Titus Naikuni was heading the Pride of Africa.
Almost all the sugar companies in Western Kenya are grounded. Mumias town is a ghost town,Nzoia is nowhere to be seen.The buck stops on the former CEO who ate and shifted blame to their juniors.
Suresh Shah was Uchumi CEO for several years, and by the time he was leaving, Uchumi had solid cash deposits of sh 2 billion…. Yes 2 billion in the year 2000, when the shilling was still strong. That is the kind of money that made any powerful person salivate. Kenneth Thairu took over, under the chairmanship of Chris Kirubi in February 2001. He was the CEO of British Firm Johnson Wax, and previously worked as head of Sales of Unilever for 10 years. Everyone said that he would make Uchumi great.
These tragic stories are the reason Kenyans are skeptical of Kenyan CEOs.
