The Chief Executive Officer Wim Vanhelleputte was deported for allegedly recording phone conversations of high ranking government officials and security chiefs.
Last week, the Minister of Internal Affairs Get Jeje Odong ordered for the deportation of Vanhelleputte.
His deportation came days after the arrest and deportation of three other senior employees of the telecommunications giant. These include the chief marketing officer, Olivier Prentout, the mobile money general manager Elsa Mussolini and Annie Tabura who was the general manager for sales and distribution at MTN Uganda.
According to a reliable source in security, intelligence operatives kept a keen eye on Vanhelleputte and even had is phones tapped immediately after the three employees were deported.
The operatives were able to discover that Vanhelleputte kept in constant communication with the three staff members even after they were deported. He was also alleged to have been speaking to MTN group top management on their behalf.
It is also alleged that when Internal Security Organisation (ISO) operatives raided the MTN data centre at Mutundwe, they discovered that Vanhelleputte tapped phone recordings of Ministers, Security chiefs and State House.
Intelligence sources say that after being reported to the Inter-Agency security Committee about his actions, Vanhelleputte was first summoned to record a statement at Special Investigations Unit (SIU) Kireka and it was after it was unanimously agreed that he should also be deported.
The Deputy Police Spokesperson Polly Namaye when contacted refused to explain the exact reasons for Vanhelleputte’s deportation.
So far only Mussolini has spoken out on her deportation. In her statement, she revealed that she had been accused for Inciting Violence by allegedly funding Member or parliament Robert Kyagulanyi alias Bobi Wine.
There are on-going investigations against other MTN staff members for allegedly compromising National Security using their positions at the company.
The employees have since recorded statements with the Special Investigations.
– URN
