Kindiki has hard task to prove he is right choice for deputy president

Deputy President Kithure Kindiki during swearing-in at KICC, Nairobi, on November 1, 2024. [File, Standard]

Several things stood out in the intrigues that led to the appointment of Kithure Kindiki as deputy president. Foremost, there is a need to re-examine the concept of running mates. While drafters of the Constitution 2010 envisioned a cohesive presidency, we ended up giving room to an imperial presidency and reduced the DP post to a decorative appendage.

The DP serves no purpose except to chorus and echo what the big man says. Events of the past few months also amplify the Executive's siege on Parliament and prevalence of the Stockholm Syndrome among MPs. The system frowns on a DP who can tell the king he is naked, even when it is right to do so.