October was a long month but surprisingly with few PR crises. Companies should stop assuming they can hide information or keep quiet about crises.
- Miss Uganda leah Kalanguka crisis
Ugandans expressed mixed reactions over the new Miss Uganda Leah. The crisis arose from the disapproval of her beauty by some Ugandans online. This negatively affected the image of the current Miss Uganda and judges of the day. Their reactions are not farfetched. It was not the usual Miss Uganda that rewarded beauty. This year, Miss Uganda was for agriculture under the theme ‘promoting agriculture entrepreneurship among the youth’. There were also media reports before the Launch of this year`s Miss Uganda that it was taken over by the army, an allegation refuted by the organisers. The organiser has not come out heavily to defend their decision for Leah through public notices or more media interviews. Major opinion commentators and media have not been negative in traditional media. Miss Uganda Leah has managed well the crisis by not turning down any interview. She has also used every publicity opportunity to respond to those who think she is not beautiful.
- Shell & Bolton International issues racist job advert
Shell & Bolton run a job advert for the post of an administrative Assistant in the a local Newspaper on October 20, 2014 restricting it to only Indian, phillipine or white applicants. This advert went viral and was a trending topic online. They were summoned by immigration department for the act. They have since run a public notice apologising and explaining the act which is a good PR move. The public notice also explains that the company had to do away with the Human resource person who was in-charge of the production of the advert. The crisis still points to the weak civil society in Uganda. We did not see activists, labour unions representatives or the HR association issuing a statement about the incident.
- High court blocks factory from processing tobacco over pollution and health concerns
High court ordered the removal of a tobacco and cigarette-making factory from kireka residential area within 60 days. Leaf Tobacco commodities (U) Limited was also ordered to pay costs of the case. The Judge noted that it was illegally in the area. The suit was taken to court by two university students and a city lawyer on behalf of about 500 residents who wanted court to compel them to foot their medical bills.
- Sarah kagingo fired amidst statehouse social media fracas.
President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni fired Sarah who was the special assistant for communications to –update the president`s social media sites. President Museveni has since ordered police to investigate her over allegations that she directed the arrest of a person she accused of hacking into the president`s social media accounts and website. Local newspapers reported that there was a state house social media management crisis which lead to creation of parallel social sites.
- Ambience closed by KCCA
KCCA closed ambience in one of its moves to ensure safety in the city. The premises according to KCCA had no occupation permit and owners altered the initial Plan that was given by KCCA.The KCCA enforcement team backed by the Public Health and Physical planning team closed the premises as owners were preparing for their Friday Campus Nite event.KCCA alleges it wrote to management of the club demanding that he first fulfills the requirements of the occupation permit but they went ahead to open the club to the public. The owners also altered the stair cases of the structure making them smaller than the expected size of the plan. The building also did not have fire extinguishers according to the required standards of KCCA.
6. Court issues summons against Dr Ian Clarke for allegedly impersonating the Kampala lord mayor.
Buganda road magistrate court issued criminal summons against Makindye division Mayor Ian Clarke for allegedly impersonating the Kampala lord mayor lukwago. Early this month Kawempe division Mayor Mubaraka Munyagwa filed a case against him.Mr Munyagwa alleged that on September 29 at a ceremony where the Mayor of Bujumbura, the capital of Burundi, was to hand over the seat of the East Africa local authorities and sports Cultural Association to his counterpart, Dr clark held out as Kampala mayor and received the instrument of power in violation of the law.Dr Ian Clark has since denied allegations.
This article strictly offers academic insight meant to create awareness about crisis PR communication management. Therefore it should be used for educational purposes and not viewed as an attack on institutions or individuals. It offers a professional PR insight into Crisis management in Uganda which is still a young profession. I hope that Lessons shared can better the PR fraternity in Uganda. PR Practitioners need to be fully involved in crises from the start. The writer assumes no responsibility for contrary interpretation of the subject matter herein.
Ivan N. Baliboola
The author has worked with some of the most well-known and influential East African brands in construction, healthcare, Insurance, cosmetics, and banking. He carries a wealth of experience in marketing, Public relations, crisis management, and social media. He is a proud Award winner of a prestigious Public Relations Association of Uganda excellence award. He has volunteered his life to addressing environment and health related causes. He is also a blogger, professional critic, and strategist.
Blogs
http://nbaliboola.wordpress.com/
http://mediasurgeon.blogspot.com
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