Athletes best for Kenya image - study

• 11 per cent of Kenyans hold a negative attitude towards their country mainly for reasons of corruption, tribalism and poor leadership.
• The study interviewed 1,108 respondents in all eight provinces.

Kenyan athletes have emerged as the leading brand ambassadors and source of national pride, a study shows.

On the whole, 67 per cent of Kenyans are proud of their country according to the study by SBO Research whose results were released Thursday.

Alongside the athletes, Kenyans also derive their national pride from wildlife - more so the wildebeest migration at Maasai Mara – the people’s culture as well as a well-educated workforce.

However, 11 per cent of Kenyans hold a negative attitude towards their country mainly for reasons of corruption, tribalism and poor leadership largely blamed for causing the 2007 post-election violence. The remaining 21 per cent is neither ashamed nor proud to be Kenyans.

High levels of unemployment among the youths and rising poverty rates too have dimmed Kenyans national pride, said Faith Oneya, SBO Research executive when she released the results.

The study was commissioned by the Brand Kenya Board to assess prevailing perceptions and attitudes towards the country among Kenyans. The Board is a state corporation mandated to improve Kenya’s visibility and competitiveness locally and abroad.

It was carried out between October and November 2009. At the time, it was found that majority of Kenyans (86 per cent) were not aware of the Board’s existence or its activities.

“At the time of the study, it was noted that there was low level of awareness and recall of programmes and activities meant to improve the country’s image,” said Ms Oneya.

World beating Kenyan athletes were identified by Kenyans as the main drivers of Kenyan image with a 69 per cent approval rating. Wildlife came second at 60 per cent.

Other drivers of the brand were the Maasai Mara (51 per cent), Cultural diversity (50 per cent) and Kenya Airways (50 per cent) among others.

On the flipside, corruption (38 per cent), discrimination (33 per cent), poor political leadership (26 per cent), poverty (9 per cent) and unemployment (8 per cent) among others top the list of barriers to brand equity.

On the attributes of integrity and trust, the media continues to be the most trusted at 56 per cent while police and politicians are the least trusted at 18 and 15 per cent respectively.

But while politicians are the least trusted group, they remain the heroes and heroines of 72 per cent of the respondents interviewed for the study. Only three per cent of Kenyans view religious leaders as role models.

According to Ms Oneya, politicians are admired for their status in the society attributed to wealth and power.

As such, she noted, the role of politicians in branding Kenya cannot be ignored.

Speaking during the function, Information Permanent Secretary Dr Bitange Ndemo and his Tourism counterpart Ms Eunice Mima commended the media for its role in educating and informing the country.

They called on all Kenyans to work in concert to improve the country’s image locally and abroad.

“The responsibility to change this country is not for the few men and women in parliament. It is upon us to do it,” said Dr Ndemo.