In lower primary school, we were told the story of the Igloo man and the camel. It was freezing cold and the Igloo man was huddled at the fireplace inside his hut as his camel froze outside.
The camel begged the Igloo man to allow him to put his head inside the hut for some warmth and the man obliged. The camel then pleaded to move in his frozen hump. The kind man without hesitation allowed it. With half his body in the hut, the camel again convinced the man to allow him to move in his hind legs.
Once in, there wasn’t enough room for both and the big camel pushed his host outside the igloo into the blistering cold. The desperate man shivered, trying to think of a way to eject the huge animal. He soon realised he was too small to push out the ‘mountain inside the hut’.
Today, Uhuru Kenyatta finds himself in the same debacle, as he fights for relevance in his backyard and his DP threatens to edge him out. They built the Jubilee Party together and Uhuru was excited to introduce his DP to his support base—Mt Kenya region.
Uhuru touted Ruto as his heir apparent and allowed him to enter the ‘bedroom’. During this period, the cunning DP identified the gaps and strategically placed his own men, as he weeded out those opposed to his agenda.
It was a scheme to give him a strong foothold in the region as the foot soldiers sold his agenda to the masses. Being sitting MPs, MCAs, women reps and governors, it was already a done deal. Winning the masses over would not require much effort.
By the time Uhuru realised his mistake, the camel was already deep inside the hearts of the people, big and daring. No amount of intimidation and threats has cajoled the camel out of the hut. As Uhuru’s political fortunes continue to fade in his own backyard, it remains to be seen how he will eject the monster he created.
Political commentator
