Larry Madowo is a Kenyan journalist who works for CNN TV.After heavy rain, the roof at JKIA airport in Nairobi was seen leaking water inside.Madowo made a joking comment in Swahili saying “Should we all collect money to buy new tin sheets for the roof at JKIA?”
His comment was meant as a joke, making fun of the poor condition of the airport building. Tin sheets are very basic, cheap roofing material, not what you would expect at a major airport.However, many Kenyans were not happy with Madowo’s joke. They felt his comment was disrespectful and insulting to Kenya.
Some people thought Madowo was embarrassing Kenya in front of the world by highlighting the leaking airport issue. As a popular journalist, his joke could make Kenya look bad to international viewers.Others felt he should not be mocking an important Kenyan facility like JKIA. They believed he should be more proud of Kenya instead of making jokes criticizing its infrastructure.
A few argued that as a Kenyan working abroad, Madowo should be promoting a positive image of his home country, not drawing attention to its problems through sarcasm.Many were disappointed that Madowo did not simply report on the airport leaks objectively as a journalist, rather than cracking jokes that could humiliate Kenya.
While Madowo likely meant his tin sheet comment as harmless humor, plenty of Kenyans took offense. They felt a prominent media figure like Madowo should be more careful about how he portrays Kenya to the world.In their view, making fun of JKIA’s leaky roof, even as a joke, could reinforce negative stereotypes about Kenya having poor infrastructure and facilities. They wanted Madowo to be more supportive of Kenya.
HERE IS THE LINK;
LINK: https://twitter.com/LarryMadowo/status/1784145771891142823?t=JDZLVMeuraelu8AYP3YGmw&s=19