Blankets & Wine organizers finally break silence after two weeks of public backlash

Revellers arrive at the Blankets & Wine Festival held on September 28, 2025, at Kasarani's Laureate Grounds. PHOTO | LYN NDINDA | CITIZEN DIGITAL

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The organizers of the Blankets & Wine Festival have
acknowledged several lapses during the September 28th edition of the event,
promising a raft of changes ahead of the December 21st “Kenyan Summer” edition.
In a detailed statement sent to attendees following nearly two weeks of
public criticism, the organizers admitted that the event, which was marred by poor sound quality, delays in performances, and complaints about bar service, “fell
short” in several key areas.
“It’s been really helpful to see the festival through your
eyes. Having read through what you shared, and having conducted internal audits
for some of the operations post-festival, we are circling back around the main
pain points, and looping you in on the measures already underway to ease your
experience at the December 21st–Kenyan Summer edition,” read the statement.
The team addressed the widely reported frustrations over bar
operations, including long queues, delayed service, and failed pre-orders that
left many revelers without their paid-for drinks.
“We continue to acknowledge the frustration around the bar
service, including the online pre-order service,” they said, adding that the
delays “were caused in part by network congestion that significantly slowed
mobile money payments, and operational bottlenecks that resulted in a delayed
response in kicking in the redundancy plan from the bar operation team.”
The organizers revealed that Safaricom had provided a network
booster on-site, but network lags still disrupted transactions.
Moving forward, they said they were “working on strengthening
our non-network-based workflow to ensure more of you can utilize card payments
at a higher volume, while also exploring the viability of cash payments at
specific bars.”
The festival also confirmed that an external audit had been
commissioned “to identify areas which require further strengthening within our
operation,” adding that they were in the process of resolving “issues for users
who paid for products on the pre-order service, or had double payment issues
due to network lag on a case by case basis.”
On the question of sound quality, one of the event’s biggest
flashpoints, the organizers admitted that “certain parts of the live stage area
that were being served by the delayed sound, including the wing on The Softlife
side, presented some challenges in terms of sound coverage.”
They clarified, however, that contrary to viral online claims,
“Tem’s mic did not cut off, and that it was actually a planned part of her
show.”
The statement added that the delay in performances, which led
to a reshuffling of the lineup, was about an hour and a half.
“The delay led us to make the decision to switch the
performance order of Tems and Joshua Baraka, which many of you shared worked
well in terms of the overall show experience,” they said.
“We recognise that this adjustment wasn’t clearly communicated
at the time, and we truly appreciate your patience and understanding as we work
on improving real-time communication during the festival.”
The organizers further said their technical and artist
services teams were “reconstituting their workflow to optimise changeovers”
ahead of the December edition, which they said would feature “some of Africa’s
biggest stars.”
The festival also addressed complaints about poor lighting and
crowd management, saying that “certain areas naturally drew more focus than
others, based on operational priorities,” but admitted “there is room to
enhance the signage and lighting experience to better reflect the high
standards we set for ourselves.”
To that end, “site re-planning is already underway to optimise
movement, infrastructure, lighting, and wayfinding for both attendees and
staff.”
They further acknowledged issues around water availability
during the September event, saying:
“Our Water & Soft drinks partner has noted the challenges
around quantities of products available to bars and vendors, and we have
already aligned around an onsite distributor model to ensure sufficient stocks
and deployment throughout the next edition.”
The statement concluded by assuring festivalgoers that their
feedback “has been heard and is actively being addressed to ensure we deliver a
smoother experience for you on December 21st.”
The statement to attendees comes after a city lawyer filed a formal complaint with the Competition Authority of Kenya (CAK) over the event held at Kasarani's Laureate Grounds,
citing unfair trade practices and consumer welfare concerns.
Lawyer Francis Wanjiku says he wants the
authority to investigate the event under Section 9 of the Competition Act (Cap.
504), arguing that paying revellers were subjected to a poorly managed
experience that did not match the advertised premium standards during the event.
Wanjiku wants CAK to not only
probe the organizers for unfair trade practices but also ensure that revellers
are compensated for what he described as a "shoddy" event experience.
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