This archive report was first published on 27 June 2020.
June 27, 2020, marked a somber day for Aden Duale, the former National Assembly majority leader, as he lost his position in the ruling Jubilee Party.
For weeks, Duale's House leadership job had been a matter of public debate amid media reports of his impending sacking and petitions to President Uhuru Kenyatta to spare the Garissa Township MP.
Despite his past statements on the importance of not personalizing positions, Duale's body language and public pronouncements before and after the parliamentary group meeting suggested he wasn't prepared for his ouster.
TV footage showed Duale standing still while leaders from his clan pleaded with the President to have mercy on their son, a poignant moment that highlighted the vulnerabilities of a man struggling to accept his own limitations.
Duale's lengthy statements on social media about his achievements as the first National Assembly majority leader under the 2010 Constitution revealed his overestimation of his talents and his failure to adapt to the changing political landscape.
Most of the achievements he listed, including the passage of government bills, were due to Jubilee's large majority in Parliament and a conformist Speaker, rather than any special personal skills.
As an attack dog in and out of Parliament, Duale's role was always going to be redundant after the Handshake between President Kenyatta and ODM leader Raila Odinga on March 9, 2018.
It was only a matter of time before his services were declared redundant, and Duale's fall serves as a cautionary tale of the importance of adaptation in politics.
