Fast-rising political activist Morara Kebaso, known for his spot-on impersonations of President William Ruto’s speeches and mannerisms, has decided to expand his public outreach by investing in a Ksh. 1.2 million public address system.
Morara believes that to effectively counter the President’s unmet promises and connect with as many Kenyans as possible, it’s essential to have a vehicle equipped to address large crowds, similar to the President’s setup.
Taking to his popular X account, Morara appealed to Kenyans to help him raise the required funds to purchase the necessary equipment. He plans to outfit his vehicle with a ‘campaign-style’ public address system to enhance his civic education efforts in rural areas.
He wrote, “Dear My Sponsors, the People of Kenya. We can go for a presidential sound system at 1.2M or a middle-range system at 838,200. Kindly review the quoted prices and verify if they are within market rates. For the sound system, I have already raised 325,000.”
“I hope more Kenyans of goodwill will continue giving. As for the vehicle to be fitted with this sound, I still don’t have one but I own an old LR Defender somewhere that doesn’t have a gearbox, I can fix that one tusonge mbele.”
He added: “These assets will be used only for purposes of civic education and good governance campaign. I will be organizing caravans where you can join me as we make a combined effort to redeem our country.”
In a tweet that has garnered nearly half a million views, Morara Kebaso shared a detailed breakdown of the items he needs to purchase, including a generator, front LED lights, mixers, equalizers, signal links, and speakers.
However, his new initiative has not been universally embraced. Some Kenyans have expressed skepticism, viewing the move as an attempt by the lawyer and furniture trader to exploit his popularity for financial gain. Critics argue that by soliciting funds from the public, Kebaso’s activism might be less genuine, with concerns that he may be profiting from the movement.
On the other hand, supporters of Morara have defended his approach, seeing his appeal for financial assistance as a sign of his commitment to continue his activism rather than abandoning it due to a lack of resources.
“You have been pressuring this man to tour the country and bring you reports of government mismanagement. How do you imagine he moves around? Who do you imagine fuels his car? What do you think he eats? Where do you think he sleeps? Touring needs money! You want Morara to work but you are not ready to facilitate his movements! Hypocrites!” one Morara supporter wrote.
Someone else argued: “Morara is not an elected official. He just assumed oversight roles to check this wasteful government. He has been doing it for a month now without needing your help. You’ve been cheering him all along! How do you think he will continue doing this if his pockets are depleted? Ruto uses hundreds of millions just for one tour!”
Morara’s detractors, on their part, claim that there will be no clear method to tell where exactly their funds went and how they’ve been used, fearing that he may have found an easy route to amass millions while posing as the ‘People’s Saviour’.
X user @Cynthia_Ke wrote, “Wow! You started without public participation, you can continue without public participation. Don’t take advantage of goodwill from citizens that makes you no different from the politicians. Welcome to politics!”
In his own defense, Morara has now said that he is not afraid of asking for financial help as his conscience was clear while also adding that contributors would soon see the fruit of his labor.
“I am not afraid to ask for financial support because my conscience is clear on how it will be used. So kama unatuma wewe tuma kakitu alafu ngojea matokeo. You will see the fruit of your labour. Let us build the culture of owning our leaders,” he wrote.
He also asked Kenyans to trust him on the matter of publicising his receipts, insisting that he would withhold some information due to safety.
“Right now they know you own me therefore they can’t buy me. Alafu on the issue of accoutability kuna shida kidogo, security. If I share receipts of everywhere we fueled or who sold us the sound etc I will essentially be telling them too. You have one option. Trust me. Just trust me!”
To fund or not to fund activists has been a raging topic online since the heady days of Boniface Mwangi, arguably Kenya’s most decorated modern activist.
According to some, activists enter the often risky field to personally enrich themselves and live a lavish life at the expense of the people they appear to agitate so passionately for.
Others, however, still believe that, to effect tangible change and impact communities, activists have to be financially boosted as they dedicate their entire lives to a particular cause, sometimes, even dipping into their own dented pockets to send a message across.
“In the US, Kamala Harris raised half a billion dollars in just weeks from ordinary Americans interested in her campaign. People chipping in $10, $20. If we form a habit of personally funding the leaders we want, then we won’t end up with the self-funded leaders we don’t want!” another X user pointed out.
