Debate debacle and Raila Kiambu tour set Twitter agenda

The decision by both President Uhuru Kenyatta and Nasa presidential candidate Raila Odinga to skip the presidential debate and the opposition leader’s tour of Kiambu were the most talked about events on Twitter in the past week.

The two issues dominated conversation during the peak days for Jubilee party and the National Super Alliance, reveals a review of Twitter conversation by Nation Newsplex and @Twitter.

From June 30 to July 6, Jubilee was the most talked about political party on Twitter, retaining the top spot. Jubilee was referenced in 64,260 tweets, double the number related to NASA, which was 29,197 tweets.

On Jubilee’s peak day, July 5, the conversations focused on the announcements by President Kenyatta and Mr Odinga that they would opt of the presidential debate, the Jubilee rally in Kajiado and the Nasa rally in Bomet.

The conversations were fuelled by the hashtags #presidentialdebateke and #get5votesforuhuruto.

Some Kenyans were not happy with the President’s move. @ChesoliProtus tweeted:  “@UKenyatta has decided not to face the people of Kenya in a real debate on Monday the 10th #AStrikingNationKenya#UhuRutoInKajiado”. 

@Bob_Odhiambo  said: “@UKenyatta has chickened out of Presidential Debate slated for the tenth of this month. This doesn't come as a surprise. He has no answers.”

Others did not think skipping the debate is a big deal. @kelvin_bishop  said: “If I were "President Uhuru" I wouldn't attend the debate either with someone who has refused to declare he will concede if he loses.” 

But @philobbas  felt that the President was just posturing and he would change his mind. He said: “This man will make a U turn. He did this in 2013, we want to hear from him he has to attend.”

But a short while later when Mr Odinga also said he would not take part in the debate it was the turn of the president’s supporters who had been feeling the heat to gloat. @FMfalme said: “Uhuru pulled out of the debate, NASA followers started bashing ati oh! he has no agenda. Then suddenly Raila withdrew too, now they are quiet.”

Even one of the presidential candidates, Ekuru Aukot, weighed in on the matter. @EAukot tweeted: “Today @Ukenyatta and @RailaOdinga have chickened out of the much hyped #PresidentialDebateKE. I encourage them to come we debate issues”.

But @oketchman replying to @EAukot  said: “Maybe they rely a lot on their campaigns as much as you have relied on this debate to win the votes.”

On Nasa’s peak day, July 4 2017, Twitter talk was fuelled by the party’s tour of Kiambu and Senator Orengo’s claim that there were plans to harm Raila Odinga, stating that there were 60 administration officers undergoing special training in Wajir, with eight being dispatched to trail Raila Odinga.

The Nasa leader set the conversation going with a tweet. @RailaOdinga said: “Today's meet-the-people tour of Kiambu provided for reflective moments. Thank you Kiambu! NASA promises a Kenya that leaves no one behind”.  The tweet got 476 retweets, 914 likes and 135 comments.”

Some Kenyans thought the trip would bear fruit. @StosaomondiFred, replying to @RailaOdinga  said: “The train to Canaan is very spacious and ready to accommodate all Kenyans. Thank you Kiambu for boarding the train today.”

But others were not so sure. @snaynek5 said: “Proud of the people of Kiambu for their level of maturity. They might not vote for @RailaOdinga in droves but happy with their hospitality.”

Twenty three per cent of the sentiments in tweets that mentioned Jubilee were positive, 17 per cent were negative and 60 per cent were neutral.

A third (31 per cent) of the sentiments in the tweets that commented on Nasa were positive, 20 per cent were negative and 49 per neutral.

A tweet does not have to be supportive towards a political party or leader to be included in either category.  

Who are the most talked-about candidates?

With one in three tweets related to the elections mentioning him, President Kenyatta was the most talked-about candidate on Twitter. A third of the tweets that mentioned him focused on Jobs.

@rhipaullysaid:  “@UKenyatta@RailaOdinga@WilliamsRutoIt's good you are busy looking for your next employment. But your employers are dying!#NursesStrike!”.  @ClemmoMutuoreplying to @UKenyatta’s where he accused the opposition of only after creating a few positions of powers for themselves instead of creating jobs for Kenyans said:  “How many jobs for youths have you and your leadership created for the last 4 yrs.... We ain't damn.”

Deputy President William Ruto was the second most talked about candidate with 29 per cent of tweets mentioning him and Odinga with 25 per cent.  The other six presidential candidates got a total of 6,035 tweets, with three in four of them mentioning Mr Aukot.

Which topics drove the social media conversation?

In the past week, corruption was the most talked about issue from among the 10 key topics that the Nation Media Group is tracking.

Just like last week when it was placed first, one in five tweets mentioned corruption, followed closely by jobs with 16 per cent of the tweets referencing it.

The topic also retained its slot and share of tweets. The third most talked about topic was economy.

The corruption conversation was partly driven by a tweet by former TV journalist Julie Gichuru. @JulieGichuru said:  “Don't let pseudo intellectuals lie that one can seek justice via violence. Conflict is the mother of injustice & she breeds a multitude.”

In her tweet she embedded video of herself elaborating on the message. The tweet attracted 213 retweets, 395 favourites and 235 comments but much of the reaction was negative and personal.

@KinyanBoy said: “Julie Gichuru should stop with her fraud peace campaigns. Kenyans want credible election peace will be automatic. Jubilee money is jinxed.”

In total, 98,677 tweets referenced Election 2017, which was 22 per cent less than last week.