In the heat of the moment, the centre often does not hold as many election campaigns in Africa have faced the unexpected collapse of stages during rallies.
A recent incident occurred in Zimbabwe when the stage, upon which the main opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) Alliance leader Nelson Chamisa stood, collapsed during a rally in Hwange.
The poorly constructed platform with at least 10 party members collapsed, leaving the potential president of Zimbabwe after the July 30 elections fighting to hold his balance.
The video of the incident has gone viral after they escaped unhurt and laughed over the fall.
There were many other election campaign stage falls across Africa and here are two recent memorable moments.
Raila Odinga – Kenya
Kenya’s main opposition leader Raila Odinga suffered a stage fall during a rally in Malindi in 2016 in front of hundreds of his supporters.
He was telling them a parable about how Jesus Christ was lured by Satan into the wilderness when the stage collapsed. This was ahead of the 2017 elections. No one was hurt.
Nana Akufo-Addo – Ghana
Ghana’s president, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has suffered multiple falls and the most recent was in 2016 when he was the main opposition leader.
He was speaking to hundreds of supporters in Ashaiman, a suburb of the Greater Accra Region when the overcrowded stage caved in.
This was ahead of the presidential elections; he escaped unhurt.
This article by Ismail Akwei was first published on face2faceafrica.com
Ismail Akwei 