Newly appointed Safaricom interim Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Michael Joseph has spoken for the first time over his re-appointment.
Joseph who was replaced by Bob Collymore in 2010 was on Tuesday re-appointed the acting CEO as an immediate replacement of the deceased Bob who died on Monday after battling cancer for two years.
Joseph has said he was given the job because those expected to replace Bob Collymore are not yet ready to take from where he had left.
However, Joseph's re-appointment was received with mixed reactions, with most Kenyans taking it to social media to express their displeasure with it.
Speaking on local television on Tuesday evening, few hours after he was announced the new CEO, Joseph said he is only watching over the company for a limited time, describing the situation of his re-appointment as 'grandparent looking after the grandchild'.
"Safaricom has always been my company, it has always been my baby. I nurtured it up to when I handed over to Bob. Now I’m just looking after it for a while, like a grandparent looking after the grandchild, until we appoint somebody else,” he stated.
While emphasizing that the role he took from the deceased in temporary, Joseph said he was well prepared to serve the needed purpose for he is not new to it
“It’s not something new for me, I’m not having to start afresh, I’m well prepared for the role, but I must emphasise it is temporary," he added.
Joseph also recognized Bob for growing and taking the company to a new level.