Chief Officer Felistus Mutune calls for tech-savvy public relations as AI resets the field
December 4, 2025
At the 20th Annual Public Relations Society of Kenya (PRSK) Summit in Eldoret, Chief Officer Felistus Mutune represented Makueni County on a high-level panel covering strategic communication in policy, governance, and diplomacy.
Her core message was simple: act early. Delayed communication breeds avoidable crises, while proactive engagement builds trust and keeps policy delivery on track.
Make communication an executive function
Mutune underscored that communication is not a support role-it's central to policy, crisis readiness, and public trust. It needs authority, resourcing, data, and a direct line to decision-makers.
She called for the function to be taken seriously across public service, with clear mandates and measurable outcomes.
Operate before issues escalate
PR teams should move from reactive statements to continuous engagement. That starts with stakeholder mapping, clear approvals, and fast response standards.
- Integrate communication into policy design from day one.
- Define approval paths for the first 15, 60, and 180 minutes of a response.
- Run red-team drills across WhatsApp, X, radio, and community forums.
- Instrument listening: media scans, social signals, and community intel reviewed daily.
AI fluency is now basic
Mutune noted that AI has changed how teams research, produce, and monitor messages. Practitioners should keep pace with new tools while protecting accuracy, privacy, and trust.
- Use AI for monitoring, summarizing long policy drafts, audience segmentation, content variants, and translation.
- Set guardrails: approved data sources, human review, disclosure where needed, and checks for bias and privacy risk.
- Train your team and document what's approved, what's off-limits, and how outputs are verified.
Inside Makueni's approach
Mutune highlighted her commitment to the Makueni County communication unit, where the team has been advancing clear strategies that support service delivery. She stressed that well-defined frameworks are essential for effective governance and crisis prevention.
What PR pros can do this quarter
- Publish a crisis playbook with sources of truth, spokespersons, and time-bound approvals.
- Build a single stakeholder map covering national, county, and community voices-update it monthly.
- Set a monitoring dashboard that blends media, social, and on-the-ground feedback.
- Pilot two AI use cases with clear KPIs-one for monitoring, one for content production with human review.
- Report outcomes to leadership in plain language: what changed, what improved, what needs funding.
The takeaway from Eldoret: speed, clarity, and trust are the new baseline. Teams that invest in process and AI skills will prevent crises, improve policy uptake, and earn credibility with citizens.
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