Top 7 Ugandan PR scandals that rocked April 2015.

1.             Africell Telecom shocks on alleged racism and poor employee relations

Africell Telecommunication Company Uganda got entangled in online negative publicity just as it continues to rebrand from orange. This was after Africell Uganda Telecommunication Company laid off 59 Ugandan workers and allegedly replaced them with Lebanese nationals. This fueled racism discussions. This was a rather bad time as it coincided with xenophobic attacks in South Africa. The Story alleged that those who were fired were not given satisfactory explanations raising concerns of poor employee relations. A disgruntled employee is more dangerous than competition in disrupting company operations.

This crisis went viral because it was in the court of public opinion which reacts with emotions not logic.A Ugandan website leaked an email communication between Africell Telecom Uganda and a renown Ugandan Communication specialist Simon Kaheru. Simon was on board to manage their organisational change communication needs. People started attacking Simon Kaheru. Simon Kaheru should however be credited for his expert response during the trying time. He was consistent with his communication and his responses were not out of anger. He intellectually challenged those with racism evidence to come forward.

 Africell has not bothered to explain itself extensively on the matter. Africell failed to give detailed responses to allegations. Failure to use their information to counter react to all the allegations just prolongs the crisis. It could give a round figure of terminal benefits paid and when. They released a statement on their Facebook page which was not dated or signed off by any Africell Uganda manager. Africell Uganda Telecommunication Facebook page describes the recent racist allegations as ridiculous and preposterous.The crisis has given rise to other   bad theoretical stories on the telecom’s operations. There are also rumours online about Africell Uganda considering closure or buy out. Africell Uganda has since responded and said it is still in Uganda. Some people have started to push for boycott of   products from Africell because of the crisis..

2. KCCA tractor kills child

Another 2-year old child was knocked dead by a KCCA tractor in lugala. The driver was on phone when the incident happened. KCCA driver was Patrick wasswa. This story was on the mighty ‘Agataliko Nfufu’ news on Bukedde TV. The KCCA management moved fast and resolved the issue by through communication .KCCA sent support for the burial with its team. Last year another baby was killed by KCCA vehicle in its premises.

3. Women stripe to protest against ministers presence

Land dispute in northern Uganda attracted debate in April when elderly female residents of Amuru district stripped naked before government officials. This was to protest against government plans to demarcate boundaries between the districts of Amuru and Adjumani. The contested land has also been claimed by the Wildlife Authority has not eased tensions.Lands Minister Daudi Migereko and Internal Affairs Minister Gen Aronda Nyakairima visited a disputed boundary area to resolve the crisis .The women said the move would to push them out of their ancestral land.Minister Migereko later assured residents that the government has no hidden-motive .Quelling the storm further, Minister Migereko announced that they had cancelled the erection of the boundary mark stones.

4.  URSB on the spot over double company registration

A Local daily reported that Uganda Registration Services Bureau (URSB) Registrar General Bemanya Twebaze acknowledged that he had received several complaints of fraud and erroneous Company registration. The double registration came to light as bids for the tendering process for the supply of Stabilized Interlocking Block Making Machines for the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development. According to the registration of Companies Act, no two similar companies can be registered at the same time.The Uganda Registration Services Bureau (URSB) is on the spot over registration of two companies operating under the same names. The two companies in question are Hydraform (U) Limited and Hydraform (Uganda) Limited. They both deal in interlocking stabilizing block making machines (ISSB) are dully registered and operating in the country.Apart from the registration numbers being 137639 and later being 149594 and the directors being different, they bare the same names.

5. King oyo challenge

This was a crisis of sorts depending on how you look at it.There was one viral  image  of King Oyo greeting the Buganda Katikkiro Charles peter Mayaige while cross-legged.What made it worse was the fact that the youthful king seemed not to pay attention. The incident was  during Kabaka Ronald mutebi’s 60th birthday celebrations .This incident  got  #KingoyoChallenge  as its hash tag. Celebrities and members from the public posed the same way and posted their pictures. It was reported that Toro King, Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru also took his own challenge during his birthday celebrations by greeting a friend while looking away. Some critics felt katiikiro is the outside king and needed to be respected. Being a youthful king, some felt his posture was disrespectful.

6. Athletics coach arrested over  alleged rape

Ugandan police arrested an athletics coach Wemali for allegedly raping three teenage female national runners. Alleged sex abuse scandals damage the country’s image.The crisis came to light after Uganda’s Commonwealth gold medallist Moses Kipsiro shared complaints from female teammates against Peter Wemali. Wemali is said to have advised them to get pregnant and then abort so they could run better. The Uganda Athletics Federation (UAF) has been accused of cover up by activists. Coach Wemali allegedly used vulgar language during training with female runners. Uganda police has since suspended him pending investigations. Wemali maintains he is innocent.

7. Pension Saga taints the image of Uganda Police.

Local newspapers reported about the Pension saga. Police officials are on the spot over irregularities on authenticity of reports on the scandal. Uganda Police has been accused of failing the shs 165b case after they reportedly received a bribe from the culprits. The CIID team which investigated the matter filed two conflicting reports. CIID chief Grace Akullo filed a different report. The matter has since attracted public outcry

 Both the Inspector general of police and the director of public prosecutions have vowed to pursue the case to its conclusion. Uganda police PR machinery released a statement on the incident. Police clarified in a press release that while the court case was dismissed, it was on a technicality and not on absence of substantive evidence. The Police investigation of the case was thorough and comprehensive according to Uganda police. ‘Strong evidence in form of witnesses and exhibits is available. In fact, the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) and the Police are working together to ensure that the case is reinstituted.’ Reads the police statement

Ivan .N.Baliboola

PR and organisational diagnosis specialist

nbaliboola@gmail.com

nbaliboola.wordpress.com/

Disclaimer.

This article strictly offers academic insight meant to create awareness about crisis PR management in Uganda. Therefore, it should be used for educational purposes and not viewed as an attack on institutions or individuals. The writer assumes no responsibility for contrary interpretation of the subject matter herein.

Be careful how you look: Looks still matter

The world seems to have   universal standards of beauty whether you like it or not. Last year organisers of Miss Uganda were entangled in a PR social media crisis over selecting Leah Kalanguka as a Miss Uganda. 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 may not be farfetched. It was not the usual Miss Uganda that rewarded strictly beauty, they considered intelligence and entrepreneurship. The year’s Miss Uganda was for agriculture under the theme ‘promoting agriculture entrepreneurship among the youth’. She used every public appearance to discuss the beauty question which also turned out to highlight her true beauty attributes that social media engagers failed to focus on. 

As a matter of fact, you will always be treated based on your looks. Beauty is still important and it plays a role in relationships and career progress. Some companies are actually asking Job applicants to submit their CVs with their recent passport photos. If you are going to be a face of a company, then you need to look like it. Beauty matters whether hidden or not

Do not get me wrong on this. Am not saying that everyone gives in to peer pressure of plastic surgery. Beauty is just an effort from continuous improvement. Increasingly some dating couples seem to focus on how their would partners look and type of children they would have. Who wants their children to be laughed at school because of their looks? Looking Beautiful is hard work at the end of the day. There are universal standards of beauty that still apply whether you like it or not. 

I have come to understand that modern beauty standards are no longer artificial as such. All People can pass the beauty test without going the with ‘NAADS way’ (Plastic surgery.) if they take an effort to look nice. This takes into consideration the clothes, attitude, hair, tidiness and how someone carries themselves.. The bible says we are fearfully and wonderfully made in God's image but Bible does not tell you not to comb your hair or brush your tooth. Such simple things can kill your true beauty.

It is not okay to console yourself that beauty lies in the hands of the beholder .This has since been changed to ‘Beauty lies in the hands of a beer holder’. No one can be hundred percent beautiful to any standard. The Buganda say 'Omulungi tabulako kamogo' literally meaning that a beautiful person will always have an imperfection. If you feel that you not have looks naturally then fake them. There are many products especially on the market especially for the women like push up bras. Some people need a little enhancement to bring out their beauty. Beauty is imperfection therefore no one is supposed to look ugly. What is beautiful to you in private must also pass the public physical attributes of beauty. Looking beautiful should translate to feeling good. Looking beautiful does not include acceptance by society.

Ivan N Baliboola

Blogger

nbaliboola@gmail.com

Miss Uganda event shocks on bad PR

Natumbwe, a business computing graduate from Greenwich University, left with the Miss Uganda crown, a brand new Mercedes Benz and sh18m. The organizers got it right on Mcs, sound, lighting and entertainers but faulted on the Mercedes gift.Queen mother Best Kemigisa who was the guest of honour handed over a cheque of 18million to Stella and proceeded to hand over keys of a new Mercedes Benz as the second prize. The gift of Miss Uganda which was a Mercedes failed to start.

This shock on PR featured on the mighty ‘Agataliko nfufu’ News on Bukedde TV.The situation was worsened by the Former big Brother housemate Denzel who showed up bare footed in a suite to give one of the contestants a present. What was the exact problem with the Mercedes?  Did the event organizers actually mock start it before the event?         Was there any per-event communication regarding dress code or who was going to hand over the gift?

Today’s PR and Brand or marketing managers need to think beyond Publicity stunts. Controversy sells but it should never be at a sacrifice of the organization’s reputation it has built over time. Some argued that it was a hilarious stunt that would keep the event fresh in the minds of media professionals. Miss Uganda organization this time round put their best foot forward to revamp it which is promising but those stunts put it back.