Senior Counsel Ahmednasir Abdullahi hosted a Twitter space meeting to discuss the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) bill and breakdown ruling by the High Court which annulled the initiative.
The online meeting garnered over 8,000 attendees giving it an edge over a number of televisions that attract nearly the same number or lower viewership online when hosting live talk shows.
Ahmednasir's space is the largest so far in Kenya since Twitter unveiled the platform in 2021. Among those in attendance were Law Society of Kenya President Nelson Havi, Garissa Town MP Aden Duale, Nairobi Senator Johnson Sakaja, media personalities Waihiga Mwaura, Linda Ogutuh, Anne Kiguta, Terry Anne Chebet, Jamila Mohamed and Asha Mwilu.
The audio conversation was done in a Q&A format with lawyers Nelson Havi and Ahmednasir answering most of the questions. The session started at 9 pm, at the same time KTN hosted David Murathe and Rigathi Gachagua, while Citizen TV had the flagship show "News Gang".
Spaces is a new way to have live audio conversations on Twitter. The creator of a space is the host and can only allow 10 individuals to speak, all others join the public forum as listeners. Twitter recently rolled out the feature to any user with above 600 followers to be a host.
On the BBI appeal, Ahmednasir explained that the constitution allowed Attorney General Paul Kihara Kariuki to bypass the Court of Appeal and file an appeal at the Supreme Court. This provision is stipulated under Section 17 of the Supreme Court as it allows the highest court to listen to exceptional circumstances such as the BBI ruling which has an implication on the constitution.
However, he argued that the Supreme Court is the weakest link in the Judiciary as one needs to only convince four out of the seven judges to rule in his favour. Nelson Havi joined in stating that the Supreme Court judges have faced questions on their integrity and independence and only a few believed to be able to stand their ground.
Ahmednasir further stated that the BBI ruling is regarded as one of the biggest decisions ever made by the Kenyan court and can be used as a reference by other countries in matters of checks, balances and exercise of powers by Presidents. Courts always borrow jurisprudence from each other, especially commonwealth countries.
The other issue that took centre stage was the decision by ODM leader Raila Odinga to castigate the police for police brutality in the recently concluded by-elections. Ahmednassir opined that "Raila's statement was smart. He knew the judgment had weakened Uhuru in a very dramatic fashion. So he was aligning himself to the courts that have delivered a devastating blow to the president."
"Before the judgment, Raila was in a very weak position, and Uhuru could drag him wherever he wants. After the judgment, Raila realised he could chart his own path than that of Uhuru. He recognised the fact that the courts have become significant players in the current dynamics."
By the end of the live chat at 11 pm, it was the top trending topic in the country.
"Use of twitter spaces will accelerate in the coming months because it gives an immediate avenue for professionals to give opinions in real-time and from any location. A lawyer can start a space immediately after a ruling to discuss judgements even before media houses get experts to interview on the same.
However, the use of spaces will be confined because overall, Twitter is not bigger than Facebook in Kenya. There is very little chance spaces will replace radio or TV because millions of Kenyans rely on radio for information in different languages, they are unlikely to switch to an option where they have to buy the internet for opinions," Digital expert Brian Muuo explained.
He added that, however, in urban areas and professional circles, spaces will definitely be a success and that bigger numbers will be recorded in the coming days.
Twitter is working on making it possible for hosts to earn money from their spaces, a feature that could accelerate the platform's growth.
