The social media scene is a fairly new phenomenon to Africa especially where politics is concerned. It is interesting to find leaders like Museveni, Kagame, Uhuru, Martha Karua et al on twitter. However, leaders need to be very careful about what they say on the social media scene lest they be haunted by it in the future.
America’s Folksy Mama and presidential hopeful Sarah Palin recently referred to the STATUE of Liberty as the STATUtE of Liberty on twitter. This prompted questions on her knowledge of the American history. ( http://www.politicususa.com/en/sarah-palin-statue-of-liberty ) In the same vein, our very own Uhuru Kenyatta retweeted a tweet by one of his followers where it was stated that the national anthem reads
‘Natukae na undugu / Pamoja na Uhuru’ and not
‘Natukae na undugu/ Amani na Uhuru.’
This was a bluff that could be simply avoided by a keen eye. Dont just retweet everything that is said in your favour.
With the elections around the corner, politicians (or whoever manages the social media accounts for them) should be very careful. After all, the social media is just Media and media can make you or break you!
