MTN’s real Rita Okuthe!

By Sebidde Kiryowa
Stepping into the shoes of Erik van Veen is not easy. It is intimidating and downright scary. Erik is the man whose suave marketing strategy catapulted the MTN brand to household status in Uganda. He also established new marketing standards in the country.
But Rita Okuthe, is now the marketing manager at MTN Uganda. At 33 years old, this single mother of a six-year-old daughter sees the responsibility of coordinating marketing strategies for the country’s biggest telecommunications network more as a challenge than a threat. A challenge she has already been raising up to for over one year now.
“Sure, his (Erik van Veen’s) shoes were very big. I realised it was a challenge and that is what I focused on,” Okuthe says, folding her legs and drawing a cushion to her body as if to hide from my view.
We are seated in a well upholstered and furnished living room with exotic fittings at her lavish doubled-storied bungalow in lower Naguru. Her daughter Liza, who she affectionately calls Bijoux (French for “jewel”), keeps pacing mischievously up and down like a frisky kitten.
Distracted momentarily from the interview, Okuthe cautions her little jewel about tripping over something, turns, apologises to me and (without losing focus on the subject) quickly points out:
“Erik did a lot in establishing and promoting the brand. He definitely made it the leading telecommunications brand in Uganda. But I came in at a very competitive stage. I don’t think our competitors have ever been as innovative and aggressive in the past six years as they are today.”
That means that with two equally aggressive competitors –– utl and Celtel, Okuthe is not just expected to be vigilant, but also shrewd, fast and make sound decisions if the company is to keep its lead. She is also expected to be a first-rate manager.
It’s a lot of strenuous work and to beat the odds in a male-dominated world that typecasts women as ineffectual, Okuthe clearly needs to rise above the social stereotypes.
“It is about respect and earning it. This you do by working hard (at home and work), being consistent and having good people and managerial skills,” she asserts while leaning back on the couch.
But for all her desirable personal attributes, Okuthe feels that without the invariable guidance from her mentors, it would all have come to naught: “I have learnt a lot from Erik and my boss Serame Taukobong (MTN’s Chief Operations Officer).”
“Besides, I inherited a very solid team which Erik left behind. I’m fortunate to have young people who are hard working and very passionate about their work,” she says, her face lighting up.
Above all, Okuthe says her deep-seated fear of God keeps her going: “I believe it is important to ground your life in God and not base your life on fickle things. If you do, then even your character will be fickle.”
But where you have strengths, you have weaknesses and Okuthe’s zeal is her very own undoing. “I’m a hard worker and a bit of a perfectionist. I want things done in a certain way and that makes me very critical of people and myself sometimes. I find it difficult to forgive myself when I make a mistake, especially when it is something I could have avoided. It’s a drawback I have to live with and work upon daily,” she confesses.
In an industry typified by relentless competition from rival firms for subscriber attention, numbers mean everything. They define success. For Okuthe, MTN hitting the 550,000-subscriber mark early this year, about four months ahead of schedule, was the moment of her career. On the other hand, the misunderstandings their Yello Kapyata promotion triggered constituted one of the most challenging times in her career.
Then the professional hazard: “We are marketing a service. It is not tangible like a commodity. Because of this, consumers tend to remember us only when things go wrong,” she laments.
Then there are the perils of juggling single motherhood and her career. “It is very hectic. You have got to organise yourself and be very clear-headed, very sober and focused. You are the mother and you are the father. You’ve got to create a very conducive atmosphere for her upbringing no matter what the demands of the job are.”
Yet through it all, Okuthe is still so passionate about her job and so loyal to MTN she says she would not join a rival firm for twice her pay!
“I love the people I work with. To me, job satisfaction is not about the money. If I left MTN, I would start up my own business, not work for anyone else.”
So serious is her attachment that her ultimate ambition is “to raise through the ranks and head this company one day.”
She might say that now, but Okuthe was not even sure she wanted this job, to which she was promoted from communications manager after she successfully applied for it in June last year. The job had been advertised in a newspaper.
“It took a lot of encouragement from my friends and bosses for me to apply for this job. But I prayed about it,” she recalls.
That she is a Kenyan and a woman did not seem to bother her because she believes: “Good work will always speak for itself. I think I did a good job as communications manager. Besides, it is the era of globalisation and organisations are looking for the best there is. The rest is immaterial.”
Okuthe, a graduate of Economics from Nairobi University was born on September 11 in Nairobi to Eric and Marie Claire Obura. Okuthe joined MTN Uganda after meeting with then general manager, marketing, van Veen by chance on a plane from Uganda. She was here in the line of duty as marketing manager for Energizer batteries. With such a pretty face, I cannot resist the temptation of delving into her love life.
“Is there a man in your life?” I inquire audaciously, watching her closely.
“Yes .....there is....,” she says falteringly, after some thought.
“Who is he?” I inquire.
“That’s between me, him and my God,” she replies, flashing a toothy smile and revealing her kazigo (gap in her upper teeth).
“Is it serious?” I delve more.
‘Umm.... Let’s just wait and see how it goes,” she replies, chuckling.
But would you consider marrying him if he turned out to be Mr. Right?
“I’m not consumed by the idea. It’s not top on my priority list right now but the door is not closed. If it happens, it happens, if it doesn’t, so be it,” she says.
She might not be consumed by the idea of marriage but there is something that certainly consumes Okuthe –– her daughter. “She is the light of my life –– my real joy. Even after a hard day at the office, she will light up my day. She’s a good girl. She is a blessing from God,” Okuthe enthuses.
But it’s not all work for this self-proclaimed recluse. When she is not marketing MTN, Okuthe, whose aversion to paparazzi is well documented, takes time off to indulge herself. Music, especially lingala (Congolese soukous/zouk), is her favourite pastime and, “I take time off to play the piano; I read a lot and I cook. I also play a lot with my daughter and I occasionally swim.”
Okuthe is also a devout Catholic who attends mass at Christ The King Church every Sunday morning, and occasionally goes for the evening mass. She prays a lot for strength during trying times and considers the Blessed Virgin Mary as her model mother.
Ends