CAPTION: Former DJ Kelvin Mulei now raking in billions. Too good to be true? Be very wary of these media peddled rags-to-riches stories. One pertinent issue recurring in the Safaricom KPMG audit, exclusively leaked to us, is the faceless nature of some of the vendors bagging lucrative contracts at Kenya’s leading telecommunications service provider.
Rita Okuthe and Peter Arina seem to be the linkmen to some of these companies, where it is said that they still earn massive commissions to date, as a token for helping them get entrenched firmly in Safaricom. These two are regarded as the most corrupt individuals to have ever worked for Safaricom since its inception.
And catching our attention is Mo Sound, which received the highest amounts in Purchase Order’s from Safaricom, amounting to almost Kshs. 331 Million, in the period of review between 2013-2015. Kavutha Mwanzia, Joy Wachira and Hassan Liwali are listed as the only contacts who the forensic auditors could place from media cuttings. Hassan Liwali seems to be a sibling to Fakii Liwali, currently in Coca Cola, because as you know, corporate Nairobi is all about cronyism and not merit. No wonder the calibre of advertisements and campaigns in Kenya are mediocre, compared to what freelancers in America are doing with their cellphones.
These days on Instagram, influential grammers are being engaged directly by Corporates, to create catchy campaigns, using basic equipment and real-time experiences. In Kenya, our advertising agencies are yet to adapt, preferring the traditional and borderline infantile advertising regimes involving print, expensive shoots out of the country, bogus voice-overs and the likes.
The advertising industry has totally refused to elevate merit and has maintained the Moi-era modus operandi, a reason why many Kenyans are starting to get repulsed by these stupid adverts.
Right here below, we have attached a video by a local instagrammer based in the US, who in this particular clip, was contracted by Subway. The video went viral, due to the very nature of humour, relatability and outright creativity, shunned by Corporate Nairobi, where progress is based on sexual concessions, family relations, cronyism and the likes.
According to the KPMG audit report, details as regards to the ownership of Mo Sound were not available at the Registrar of Companies office, something which needs to be investigated immediately. But from our own searches, a character by the name of Kelvin Mulei appeared to be the "front" since he was just a DJ, who suddenly owns this company bagging huge contracts. He is also the founder of Groove Awards, indicating an obvious conflict of interest.
Mo Sound was contracted to offer roadshow and activation services for Safaricom, and were supposed to also provide detailed records of each activation. They failed to provide the auditors the same, because they knew they are untouchable and are firmly entrenched in the company, with contacts high up, contacts who live off commissions and kickbacks from the company. CAPTION: The big money contract awarded to Mo Sound. It appears as if someone in Safaricom’s finance department tipped Mo Sound of the impending audit, enabling them to bribe the Registrar of Companies, to conceal details of their ownership. The only reason for this could be that there is a Safaricom staff member who is a director at Mo Sound.
We will continue serializing the Safaricom KPMG audit, in a bid to shed more light on maneuvering in Corporate Nairobi, beginning with the advertising department. We will shed more light on the companies involved including Scanad, Round-trip and Squadd-Digital including ownership, their directors and the likes. CAPTION: The amount of money Safaricom spends on activations. Anyone that feels their name is contained therein, and could be adversely mentioned is free to contact us on the way forward.
Meanwhile we hereby attach this video of the new age advertising regime in the world today, using Instagram. The individual was contracted by Subway. Creativity should be encouraged and these media and advertising companies should stop hiring people on the basis of looks or relations, and instead head-hunt for the best talent in the country. Thriving in mediocrity doesn't necessarily mean that Kenya has the best adverts. People should be striving to compete with the exceptional.
Click to see Subway advert, without no fancy shoots, expensive voice-overs, big crew, fictitious costs and other manufactured expenses Kenyan "creatives" impose.