The High Courts civil division has confirmed the appointment of a one Mr. Donald Nyakairu as the provisional administrator of Afrimax Uganda that also trades under the Vodafone Uganda brand name.
The confirmation was issued on 15th February of this year together with an interim protective order for the company for a period of 3 months in accordance with section 139 of the Insolvency Act 2011.
Vodafone Uganda hasn’t had a head since the former CEO John Ndego threw in the towel towards the end of last, after which speculations arose about the impending closure of the Kamwokya based telecom. It has however continued surviving even after a few heads declared its withdrawal from Uganda’s telecom industry in a space of two to three months.It is still operational but this new appointment might confirm that indeed Vodafone Uganda is becoming insolvent but could be saved or the other way round.
With the closure rumours still in the air, it was said that vodafone has apparent arrears amounting to over 2 Billion shillings payable to Eaton Towers, a tower management firm and also owes licensing fees to the Ugandan Communications Commission among other creditors. These creditors could have pushed for the appointment of Mr. Donald Nyakairu to administer Vodafone on their behalf until these arrears are cleared. In other words, Vodafone Uganda is now under involuntary administration given the appointment was from judicial quarters but not a board decision.
This means that Mr. Donald has custodial responsibility over Vodafone’s assets and liabilities but first, he acts in the interest of Vodafone creditors. Measures that can be taken under administration include recapitalization, eventual selloff to a new buyer or downright liquidation of assets if the worse comes to the worst.
Mr. Donald Nyakairu was once a Chief Legal Counsel and Corporate Affairs of the troubled UTL before taking its lead as the Managing Director in 2011 up to 2012. He also hold a Masters of Law from the University College London.
