MediaMax Sacking: The media house owned by the family of President Uhuru Kenyatta on Sunday night fired over 100 employees. The employees of the media house, Mediamax Networks Ltd, were fired via SMS.
Reports say that the text messages were sent to the affected workers by various human resource managers. A human resources manager identified as Maureen Wandera sent one of the text messages telling an employee: “I am contacting you with regards to the redundancy notice issued on 21st of May 2020.
The notice period has expired. Unfortunately your position has been affected by way of redundancy. I would like to invite you to Emory Hotel in Kileleshwa tomorrow, Monday 22nd at 8:55am to discuss what this means to your employment. When you get to the hotel kindly ask for me. We thank you for your indulgence and cooperation in this matter.”
The majority of the affected journalists are based at K24 and People Daily. Among the employees who have been fired are the following journalists:
- Kiswahili news anchor Nancy Onyancha
- Job Mwaura assignments/Swahili Editor
- Ken Wariahe (Swahili Anchor and Editor)
- Isabella Kituri (Anchor/Swahili Editor)
- Caroline Wambui (acting Managing Editor)
- Shukri Wachu (Education/Crime Reporter)
- Apollo Kamau (Political Reporter)
- Mercy Milanoi (Business Reporter)
- Joy Kiruki ( Features Editor)
- Gloria Milimu (Health Reporter)
- Kimani Githuku (reporter).
- Features Reporter Dennis Matara
- Sports anchor Tony Kwalanda
- Fred Indimuli (9pm News Anchor/Editor)
- People Daily Managing Editor Ken Bosire
- People Daily Revise Editor Patrick Wachira.
The firing comes barely days after the employees of the media house wrote a letter to President Kenyatta pleading for their jobs.
“Since the beginning of the crisis, we have seen you personally institute measures to cushion Kenyans against the economic shocks that came with it. However, at Mediamax, the esteemed organization that’s associated with your family has shown nothing but utter disdain for its biggest driving force – its staff.
Unlike other companies that held dialogue with their employees through the painful but unavoidable measures, the Acting Chief Executive Officer, Ken Ngaruiya, was unilateralist in his approach,” the employees said in the letter.
The letter went on: “It is primitive, retrogressive, and abhorrent for the acting CEO to subject innocent employees to abuse and cruelty to satisfy his weird sadistic impulses. To save the company, kindly order an audit of the books. We believe that beneath this cruelty and arrogance, is a well-calculated scheme to cover the plunder of MNL.
It is only your personal intervention that can stop the CEO from hammering the last nail on the coffin of the company that has been in a tailspin ever since he joined. Save as from this tyranny, for, just like you, we are people’s children, siblings, spouses and close relations too.” MediaMax Sacking.
