Since the March 2018 handshake between President Uhuru Kenyatta and the de facto Opposition leader Raila Odinga, the two opposing camps led by the two leaders have seemed to bury their hatchets to purportedly work together 'for the good of the nation'.
By Ndung'u Wa Gathua
This relationship of the two pre-2018 strange bedfellows has, however, not come without collateral damages on both camps with Kenyatta's side seemingly suffering immensely following his bitter fallout with his deputy William Ruto.
This is what culminated to the marathon purge that is currently at the homestretch, that saw DP Ruto wings clipped in Jubilee party leadership and Parliament. The same offensive is expected to be extended to the cabinet and parastatals to rid off Ruto's allies.
In other words, UhuRuto's political marriage has hit a rock-bottom and is no longer salvageable as we edge close to 2022. What is worth noting though, is that Uhuru doesn't seem to give a hoot about it and is even reportedly preparing to escalate it to the grassroots more so in Mt Kenya where Ruto has seemingly taken his crown of the region's leadership.
Today, you will also not fail to realize how the Uhuru-led government has suddenly become so perfect in its mandate execution before the eyes of the opposition, such that nowadays you hardly hear of any criticism unlike before.
But this doesn't mean that the government has been getting everything right since the handshake took effect: runaway corruption, spitting on the rule of law and mismanagement of COVID-19 pandemic, are among the many things that this government continues to score below average.
However, the Raila-led opposition has opted to give this government's inadequacies a blind eye instead opting to flatter it just like that cunning fox that flattered a foolish crow and eventually got what it wanted.
Also Read:
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The fable tells of a crow that has found a piece of cheese and retired to a branch to eat it. A fox, wanting it for himself, flatters the crow, calling it beautiful and wondering whether its voice is as sweet to match.
When it lets out a caw, the cheese falls and is devoured by the fox. The fox ends with a joke at the crow's foolishness noting that: "You were not dumb, it seems, you have indeed a voice; you have everything, Sir Crow, except brains."
The fable generally cautions against listening to flatterers. In fact, Julius Phaedrus, a 1st-century Roman fabulist, commenting on the fable warns: "One who takes delight in treacherous flattery usually pays the penalty by repentance and disgrace."
Phaedrus goes on to add that 'flatterers thrive on fools' credulity'. And don't they?
That said, I don't mean to brand Uhuru as the crow and Raila as the fox because the reverse could also be true. It is only time and events that will decide who takes either title. In the meantime, you be the judge and decide who holds what crown!
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