Uche Ajene, former marketing manager of Efritin.com has accused Somalian national and former MD of Efritin.com, Zakaria Hersi of stealing thousands of dollars, turning a blind eye to internal mismanagement and false fully creating invoice trails that led to her.
In a set of tweets on November 17, 2016, Uche also named Chioma Viola Opara, Regional Sales Director at Flexenclosure AB as his co-conspirator.
Uche Ajene who held a similar position at Rocket Internet’s Jumia is well respected in online marketing cycles, and also held a similar role at Naspers’ MIH Internet Africa, a consultancy role with United Bank For Africa, Interra Network inc. and Silverton Bank.
Uche who has made a name for herself on twitter with her blunt and direct tweeting style was absent from twitter earlier this year around the time when whispers of her exit from Efritin were first brought to our knowledge. She was accused of fraud and mismanagement of funds but sources have confirmed to us that she was able to clear her name of accusations within the company but not to the larger online marketing community who did not have access to her side of the story.
Uche in her tweets mocked the duo of Zakaria and Opara over thefts of $50,000 and $100,000, and promised to reveal more information about their illegal activities while at the company.
In communication with Techmoran, Uche talked about Efritin’s unique approach to classifieds in Nigeria and how Zakaria’s greed and mismanagement had led the company to lay off a lot of its Nigerian staff in 2015, increasing the need to rely on it’s central team.
In collusion with Chioma Viola Opara, Regional Sales Director at Flexenclosure AB, Zakaria Hersi had created a company “VC Stratem” and created invoices for online marketing services worth $40,000 for services never rendered. He also faked email communication from Uche asking for approvals for this invoice and other invoices that he sent to the parent company in Sweden. She also mentioned reporting theft by Gabi, a former member of the Efritin Nigeria team to Zakaria but he ignored it.
Responding to questions about how Zakaria’s theft affected Efritin Nigeria’s operations and prospects of growth, she talked about how hurried expansion to other parts of Nigeria and the volume of theft created pressure on Efritin Nigeria leading to fears about the viability of the Nigerian market from the parent company.
The entire experience reinforced a lesson for her on great record keeping which she eventually helped clear her name with the company.
