Abstract: The development of a successful crisis communication plan at the onset of a crisis is crucial in taking responsibility and communicating information to the public quickly consistently and truthfully. “In today’s world, it is no longer a question of whether a major crisis will strike any organization, it is only a matter of when, which type and how (Mitroff and Pearson, 1993). Therefore establishing an effective crisis communication plan is essential. Crisis in Kenya is not a new thing, in the most recent case in the Kenyan history, in August 12th 2011, a fuel pipeline exploded in a densely populated Sinai slum in Nairobi due to fuel siphoning, bringing to question the state of crisis communication in Kenya. Therefore this study explored three objectives, to explore crisis situations impacting crisis response strategies in Kenya, to examine the communication response strategies used in crisis situations in Kenya. to analyze the forces within the organization impacting effective crisis communication in Kenya. The research tool used was questionnaires. Out of the total respondents interviewed 59% were male and 41% were female. 87% strongly felt that the fuel siphoning menace is not going to end soon. 51% of the respondents admitted in receiving warning concerning the looming danger of Sinai fire, whereas 49% of respondent denied having got any warnings. The study disclosed that many people engage in fuel siphoning because of poverty, lack of clear information concerning fuel siphoning and dangers associated with it and lack of regular warnings concerning the dangers of fuel siphoning, leading to people engaging in fuel siphoning. The relative authorities’ i.e. the government should tackle people’s attitudes and perceptions as a major impediment to successful crisis communication.
Keywords: Crisis, Crisis Communication, Catastrophe, Effective crisis communication, Policy.
Title: Factors Affecting Crisis Communication in Nairobi County: Kenya
Author: Roy Wafula, Hellen Mberia
International Journal of Social Science and Humanities Research
ISSN 2348-3156 (Print), ISSN 2348-3164 (online)
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