President Uhuru has banned mass rallies to stem the rise of new COVID infections.
The ban comes at a time the country is headed to the next stage of the #BBIReport politics, with referendum set for April 2021, per a leaked memo showing important timelines for the initiative.
The President, however, allowed town-hall meetings.
Town halls allow two-way dialogue which is unlike mass rallies. For BBI, with its contentious issues unresolved, townhalls will provide a better platform to explain the document and flag off the lies, half-truths and innuendoes by its critics and saboteurs.
Five tips for the planners:
Provide food: It is easy to speak to people with full stomach, ask those who’ve been booked at Weston Hotel.
Provide facilitation: Kenya ni nchi ya ‘kitu kidogo’, if you get what I mean. For those you invited, provide them with something to take home.
Plan for more: If you expect 150 people, plan for another 150 more. Kenya is a country where people ‘show up’.
Leaders, be easy: Townhalls provide platforms for interpersonal relations. Don’t be too stiff and overly protected. Have your bodyguards who smile more, rather than frown. And when people want to get close to you, make them feel you are a human being too, chit-chat. This is Kenya, not Pakistan.
Think of those not attending: It’s the second decade of the 21st century. Live blogging, webcasting etc are the new idioms of the game. Technology now allows you to hold a townhall in Nyeri and broadcast it — in its entirety — in Eldoret. Partner with TV and Radio stations, if you can.
Limit ‘VIP’ Speakers: Townhalls are shared platforms. For every VIP Speaker, get 2–3 commoners (wananchi) to speak. And to wananchi, attend townhalls to learn and engage, not cause chaos. If you don’t like a group, don’t attend their function. Just keep off. Kaa na mama yako. Kenya also belongs to them too.
See you around!
