Behaving Badly

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Behaving badly

At around 11 on February 26, CEO Linus Gitahi caused a security scare at the Jomo Kenyatta International  Airport at the Passports Control Section of the Immigration Department while on the way to Uganda for what has become a ritual for him and Wangethi Mwangi – the nightmare of NTV Uganda being switched off by M7.  The information available shows that Linus arrived late and in his hurry to catch the flight to Entebbe, he completely forgot that he was the CEO of the leading media house in East and Central Africa region and threw etiquette out of the window. Although he was to blame for his own lateness, Linus lost his cool when the staff stood their ground and  emanded that he follow the laid down procedures at the airport. It was then that he lost his cool and called a female staffer a mother fucker! Airport staff interviewed by our research and analysis team said the insulted female staffer refused to be  ntimidated by Linus who was swearing to have her sacked for not recognizing whom he was and according  him special treatment. Those interviewed said the girl insisted that the airport served all Kenyans and non-Kenyans in the same  manner and told Linus he was no exception.  

The female staff called her bosses and they decided to handle the matter diplomatically to avoid embarrassing our CEO and the company. But they warned him they would expose him should he try that another day. Unfortunately for Linus, the incident captured the attention of other travelers and airport staff and security and they decided to tip us off.  Had Linus been a Government official or any other corporate chief, the story of the security scare at  Kenya’s largest airports would have been big news. But the media have the silent rules of covering up the mess of one of their own and, therefore, you will never read that story in any newspaper.  Our advice to our CEO is simple – he should conduct himself with some decorum. He inherited a healthy and vibrant media giant from his predecessor, Kiboro. However, the business empire that Kiboro built for over a decade has now started crumbling under the very watch of Linus – just four months after taking over. Apart from blatantly refusing to act on sex-for-hire-or-promotion editors and managers, Linus (whom we have also discovered has a dark sex life) has left a lot to be desired in the manner he has handled the switching off of NTV Uganda by M7. But if he displays arrogance to M7 boys just in the way he conducted himself at the airport, we should not expect him to make any impact for this group or convince Ugandan authorities to respect NMG investment. Kiboro must be smiling wherever he is. The boy he handed over to has started on the wrong footing. We are sure if Kiboro was still the CEO, M7 (who had a lot of respect for him) would not have switched off the TV station. Kiboro commanded immense respect, not only amongst East African Presidents, but globally. 

Our salaries were guaranteed by 24^th of every month when Kiboro was here but the future looks gloomy with this boy at the helm. Take for example, for the first time in a very long time, the management staff went without an annual increment the whole of January this year. Sensing trouble, Linus posted circulars on the notice boards and the lifts promising all and sundry that the salaries would have been revised mid January. The promised date passed and Linus had no apology for his lies.  Ironically, Wangethi – who is at the centre of the sex scandals rocking the house the Aga Khan built with holy funds – is now Linus’ right hand man and the two keep dashing in and out of Uganda to persuade M7 to switch on the TV. Knowing that even M7 must have been told about the sex scandal, he must be grinning in his sleep by the fact that the two tainted men had been cornered and they had no moral authority to do anything. But for Wangethi, he has been quoted by his friends saying that he preferred the prevailing situation to prevail as long as possible so that he can keep dashing to Uganda in the hope that the sex scandal will cool off. As long as the problem in Uganda persists, Wangethi hopes to take cover there and hide himself from his nagging wife and ourselves at Nation Centre. He can’t face us in the eyes.We promise you Wangethi that you have seen nothing yet. Mrs Helen Mbugua, the HR Director, has quickly learnt from Wangethi’s tricks. She has been keeping herself busy by shuttling from one university to another in the name of the talent search programme of identifying young talent from the campuses. The other day we were told that NMG will annually bring on board at least 20 youngsters from the campuses. We are yet to see how the programme will work out. But we hope it’s not another white elephant. On March 1 – the day all NMG sex predators were supposed to have resigned – the Daily Nation carried a story on page 20 with a banner headline Liberian minister quits over sex romp pictures. Yes, that is Liberia. And what is happening inside our very own Nation Centre? The only option left for Wangethi, Odindo, Linus, Helen and Co. is to take the route of Liberia’s Chief of Staff, Willie Knuckles.

Liberia’s irreverent media have had a field day with the “Knucklegate” scandal, piling pressure on Johnson-Sirleaf to enforce the high moral standards preached by her government.We have launched a fight against widespread prostitution and sexual abuse in Nation Centre and our resolve to sweep you off your feet is much bigger than the peanuts we get from this company every end month.  Continue watching this space …

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