Vodacom spent R7.7 million to keep its CEO safe
Vodacom revealed in its recently published annual financial statements that it spent around R7.7 million on CEO Shameel Joosub’s personal security detail.
This was thanks to a ruling by the South African Revenue Service, which compelled the mobile operator to disclose the expense as a fringe benefit for tax purposes and restate his 2025 remuneration.
That meant Joosub also had to pay income tax on the amount at the 45% marginal tax rate. The restated figures revealed that his tax bill was R3.3 million higher in 2025 than initially reported.
The details about Joosub’s personal security were contained in a footnote of the notes to the consolidated and separate financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2026.
“The expense allowance for 2025 has been updated to now also include personal security benefits in accordance with a tax ruling that was received during the current financial year,” Vodacom stated.
Vodacom restated Joosub’s 2025 expense allowances from R19,800 to R7,316,723, providing a clear indication of the extent to which his personal security benefits contributed to the total.
In 2026, his expense allowances were R7,742,922. However, in 2025, it included mobile phone benefits and long service awards. This year, it included vehicle depreciation but excluded long service awards.
Spending millions on Joosub’s security is not surprising. He is one of South Africa’s highest-profile chief executives and a core business leader.
He has been at the helm of Vodacom for 14 years and is an integral part of the company’s success.
South Africa has seen a surge in targeted kidnappings for ransom, increasingly focusing on high-net-worth individuals and top-tier corporate executives.
Joosub falls squarely in the category of people and their families who may be targeted, requiring comprehensive protection.
Telecommunications operators are also targeted by crime syndicates involved in cell tower battery theft and cable theft.
As the face of the company executing countermeasures against these syndicates, a CEO can become a target for retaliatory threats.
Leading a high-profile company like Vodacom also exposes Joosub to public and legal hostility, which has the potential of spilling over into violence.
Threats outside South Africa add to the cost
Vodacom Group is one of Africa’s biggest telecommunications, digital technology, and financial services companies.
The company has evolved from a South African mobile provider to a large pan-African telecommunications and fintech giant.
Across its African footprint, Vodacom serves 237 million customers, and its networks reach a population of roughly 600 million people.
To run such a large company requires special skills and experience, and Joosub, who has been with Vodacom since 1994, is a perfect fit.
It is also expected that a company will need to remunerate such a person well, given the hard work expected of them.
Over the last financial year, Joosub’s total pay package was R137 million. This was a significant increase over the R78 million in the 2025 financial year.
Apart from running Vodacom, Joosub serves on the boards of Safaricom and Vodafone Egypt, as well as on subsidiary boards across the group.
He also sits on the board of Business Leadership South Africa and was appointed to the Vodafone Group Exco in April 2020.
Ensuring his and his family’s safety is therefore important to both Vodacom and the African business sector.
It is not only local security which is a priority. Vodacom operates in numerous African countries, including the DRC, Lesotho, Mozambique, Tanzania, Egypt, and Ethiopia.
When travelling abroad, high-ranking telecommunications executives are high-value targets for both state-sponsored actors and criminal syndicates.
Foreign countries reduce the effectiveness of standard, home-based security personnel and the systems they use.
Ensuring seamless, vetted transitions from secure airport tarmac zones to localised close-protection teams is necessary to mitigate crime, tracking, or ambushes.
This meant Joosub’s international travel, especially to countries like the DRC and Mozambique, carries significant risks, and it can be costly to ensure his personal safety.
Loading ...