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President Uhuru Kenyatta (C) his deputy William Ruto (L) and Former Prime Minister Raila Odinga during the launch of the Building Bridges Initiative report at Bomas of Kenya on November 27, 2019. [Stafford Ondego]
The question is not whether or not the President and his deputy have fallen out. It is rather about where all this will end up, how it will do so, and how soon. The gloves are off. The punch-up is on. It is a decidedly bare-knuckled rough rumble and tumble, with manifold outriders and cheerleaders on both sides. The Handshake and the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) have pushed the relationship between Kenya’s two topmost leaders to the brink of havoc. It has left President Uhuru Kenyatta holding two tigers by the tail – ODM leader Raila Odinga and Deputy President William Ruto.
It is no longer a question of whether things will snap or not. That has happened. So who will carry the day? The determinant will not be the size of the dog in the fight. It will be the size of the fight in the dog. And there are three dogs in this fight, one holding two by the tail. The easier thing would be to let go of the Deputy President.
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