A Kid, returning without protection from the pasture, was pursued by a Wolf. Seeing he could not escape, he turned around, and said: "I know, friend Wolf, that I must be your prey, but before I die I would ask of you one favour. You will play me a tune to which I may dance."
The Wolf complied, and while he was piping and the Kid was dancing, some hounds hearing the sound ran up and began chasing the Wolf. Turning to the Kid, he said, "It is just what I deserve; for I, who am only a butcher, should not have turned piper to please you."
In times of dire need, clever thinking is key to outwit your enemy.
Last week, Jubilee secretary general Raphael Tuju made a statement declaring that plans by the ruling party’s National Management Committee were afoot to kick out William Ruto from the deputy party leader position.
The plan is to ensure that his removal from the Jubilee Party will lead to Ruto also being removed from his position as the Deputy President of Kenya.
This is not the first time such plans have been made. We have heard similar sentiments from other leaders such as Jubilee vice chairman David Murathe, who once said Ruto would be evicted from his Karen residence.
There were even plans to impeach Ruto as Parliament finished debating and passing the BBI Bill.
Just this year Cherangany MP Joshua Kutuny, who was appointed deputy secretary general, made a similar claim arguing that Ruto was no longer loyal to the party.
In my opinion, plans to kick out the DP are poorly thought out decisions. All attacks against the DP, especially this close to the election, are only going to generate sympathy and build his portfolio.
The plan is as poorly crafted as that of 1978 against then Vice President Daniel arap Moi when Founding President Mzee Jomo Kenyatta died.
Some political players around Kenyatta sought to lobby the Cabinet not to pass a resolution that saw Moi sworn in as acting president for 90 days as indicated in the Constitution.
They failed in their quest and Moi ended up being President for 24 years. Those plotting against Ruto are likely to face the same fate.
One is even led to conclude that there seems to be a deliberate effort to popularise Ruto through these attacks. Is there a plan to intentionally build the DP’s profile through these attacks? Who is fooling whom?
Removing Ruto as deputy party leader would be a catastrophic political miscalculation. Not only will any attempt to castigate and attack Ruto backfire spectacularly, but it will also generate a lot of sympathy towards the DP and build him politically. Unless that is the plan.
In politics, the best way to destroy a politician is to ignore them completely instead of what we are seeing now where some are just pushing attention to the DP.
There is a bigger danger in pushing the DP out of government at this time, including making him tarnish the government he has been part of easily.
It is also an unnecessary distraction that will see focus turn away from President Uhuru Kenyatta’s legacy plans as many will see him as the person who pushed Ruto out.
Kenyans are focused on putting food on the table and money in their pockets. The economy has wiped off millions of jobs, and Kenyans are suffering.
We should be looking for ways to improve the lives of Kenyans and transform the nation. Instead of focusing on Ruto, Tuju and Co should be focusing on how to rebrand the party, which is slowly turning into a shell of its former self.