Confusion clouds Vodacom, Motorola promotion

DAILY NEWS Reporter

CONFUSION yesterday dominated the draw in which Vodacom Tanzania Limited and Motorola were picking winners of a promotion jointly organised by the two firms for its recent subscribers in the country.

Three subscribers whose numbers were picked in the computerised draw were not reachable, while the two others who were reached by phone and eventually declared winners said they were using handsets manufactured by Motorola's competitor - Nokia.

Vodacom in collaboration with Motorola launched the promotion on December 1, last year.
To enter the promotion, one had to be a Vodacom subscriber and purchase either of the two Motorola handsets - C168 for 90,000/- or C139 for 55,000/-. The promotion closed on Monday.

Juma Issa (21), who was reached on number 0754-261530, was informed of being a lucky subscriber and entitled to a brand new Suzuki Maruti worth 15,000 US dollars (about 19.5m/-).

But when asked by a Vodacom official what type of handset he was holding, he proudly said it was a Nokia.
"I am on Nokia. It is Nokia Mzee," Issa who had earlier identified himself a farmer living in Gairo said to the vivid disappointment of two representatives of Motorola who attended the draw at the Dar es Salaam International Conference Centre (DICC).

Jaffari Suleiman (32), was also reached to be informed that he was a lucky subscriber, but he insisted that he had a Nokia handset.

He, however, explained that he had earlier lost a handset, but went to a Vodacom customer care centre, where he asked to retain the subscription number.

Vodacom Marketing Manager Ephraim Mafuru told journalists that the prizes were scheduled to be presented to the winners in Dar es Salaam on January 31.

"To claim the prize, the winner must produce the newly purchased Motorola handset and relevant identification documents. The one who claims to have lost the phone must show evidence that he indeed bought the phone," he added.