For some time now I received emails under the subject "zain africa challenge" or "zain africa challenge reloaded". They contained private photos of a couple that were leaked onto the internet by an IT guy whose blackmailing plan went sour after the refusal of the couple to succumb to his demands. I applaud this couple for their brave decision to stand firm because, faced with the same situation, most of us would have chosen the easy path........give in to the blackmail. They instead chose to endure public humiliation, criticism and all the worst that would happen after their photos got released.
I have never understood what drives people to do such lowly acts as blackmail. I have never even considered it and don't know anyone who has, maybe because by human nature, no one wants the public to know the evil they are capable of so they will not go around telling of it. If I ever met a blackmailer, I don't expect them to offer me a logical explanation for their deeds. The most likely reasons would be: jealousy, greed, selfishness, anger......plus other despicable emotions. It is quite clear that the actions of a blackmailer are those of a deeply disturbed coward.
I have never understood what drives people to do such lowly acts as blackmail. I have never even considered it and don't know anyone who has, maybe because by human nature, no one wants the public to know the evil they are capable of so they will not go around telling of it. If I ever met a blackmailer, I don't expect them to offer me a logical explanation for their deeds. The most likely reasons would be: jealousy, greed, selfishness, anger......plus other despicable emotions. It is quite clear that the actions of a blackmailer are those of a deeply disturbed coward.
Nevertheless, I took interest to know what led to all this and read all the emails i received as well as the local the tabloids. From what I gathered, in brief, the story is that the IT guy nosed around and managed to obtain the photos, which he then used to try to blackmail the couple for a large amount of money. They refused to give in and instead reported the issue to HR. Nothing seems to have been done by HR and it was not until Mr. IT released these photos onto the internet that they took action by firing both this guy and the couple (talk about reaction instead of action!!!). I cannot say I am an expert on human resource management, but I am sure that this situation could have been handled in a better manner by the relevant authorities. Any one who has worked in a large corporate environment will agree that intimate relationships occur a lot. People spending at least 8 hours a day in the same environment will indeed have to interact a lot and the inevitable may happen. However, experience has shown that more harm than good comes out of such. I then set out and got more "inside" information from friends that work in Zain. They told me they were already aware of the relationship this couple had. This set me back even more....if this relationship was already known of, why then was the couple fired? In my experience, such relationships are only forbidden between a staff and a direct supervisor or staff reporting to the same supervisor. To my knowledge, this was not the case with these 2, who, even though in the same department, were not in a direct reporting situation. My friends further divulged to me that even with the relationship ongoing, the couple were good at their respective responsibilities. So if work was getting done, what was the issue? Now, i recently managed to get more information that further shocked me. What most people do not know, is that this whole saga is a conspiracy that was masterminded by not one person but a group of people (haters), some of whom are known and others who are not known. Apparently, the usual company politics and office animosity are present in this setting and the discovery of these photos was the one chance these haters had to do their evil. The fired IT guy, revealed as Benjamin Watmon (Benjamin.Watmon@ug.zain.com), was just the hater chosen to take the fall for the evil deed. Other haters revealed to be part of this conspiracy are: Abel Kibiryango (Abel.Kibiryango@ug.zain.com), Andrew Katende (Andrew.Katende@ug.zain.com), who are also part of the IT team, and shockingly their director, H.G Gurunath!!!! (HG.Gurunath@ug.zain.com). These guys are apparently so proud of what they have done that they are not hesitant to share details of their plot with whoever cares to listen. They are calling themselves the radical heroes of today, the "osama ladens"!! However, other co-conspirators are yet to be known. I wish they would also reveal themselves like their colleagues. It's hard to find people who take clear responsibility for their actions and kudos to Benjamin, Abel, Andrew and Gurunath for doing so. I must agree that these guys are quite creative with the names they use and give them more kudos for that. Otherwise for now, I am giving you the first sneak peak into the faces of these haters.........they deserve to be known for accomplishing what they have done:
Maybe they can start a business under the brand "osama ladens" and make more money out of revealing such juicy information about others. For those who want to thank them in person, their contacts are: Benjamin +256752600532, Abel +256752601573, Andrew +256752600096. I just love scandals. They keep us entertained for as long as they last. However is it fair to those involved in the long run?
