Kenyan boy-band Sauti Sol. [Photo/kahawatungu.com]
Celebrities are social influencers and their voice is critically scrutinized by the public. With the almost tangible political tension in the country, every little thing they mouth is placed under a microscope as Sauti Sol can attest.
Award-winning local band Sauti Sol was brutally attacked by an explosive social media mob that got riled up by the group’s view on the ongoing political situation. The band mocked the popular ‘Tibim’, ‘Tialala’ and ‘Tano Tena’ slogans from the major political outfits, Jubilee and Nasa, saying they are empty slogans and have no development records attached to them.
Sauti Sol was accused of being neutral and not speaking up when they are required to and, to some, they appeared to be a pro-one party. While it is understandable that people might feel pissed off with the remarks, their vile reaction was more telling. If the group’s opinion was inaccurate then the social media army could have handled it perhaps better than they felt the band acted.
Hurling insults and launching personal attacks that were totally irrelevant to the situation was an outright show that they were incapable of decorum and reasoning. It was a show of ignorance just as letting politicians drive a wedge between them is.
Could it be that Sauti Sol was right, but people could not handle it? It is unclear whether it is their message that was offensive, its packaging or their right to have a stand and support whomever they want?
Some public figure has unashamedly shown their affiliation with certain politicians, while others have kept mum and only preached peace. Comedian, Felix Odiwuor aka Jalang’o, holds that supporting politicians publicly comes back to bite, irrespective of who is rooted for; winning team or not.