Ol Kalou by-election has delivered a message, and it isn't flattering

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Democracy for the Citizens Party candidate Douglas Kamau Waweru wins Ol Kalou parliamentary by-election.[Kipsang Joseph, Standard]

Political parties have a habit of setting their own examinations and then acting surprised when they fail. That is what happened in Ol Kalou.

The United Democratic Party (UDA) did not present the by-election as an ordinary contest for a parliamentary seat. It dressed it up as a referendum on the broad-based government, a confidence vote in President William Ruto's political machinery and proof that the ruling coalition was in control.

When you declare a football friendly to be the World Cup final, don't complain when the scoreboard is analysed like one. Ol Kalou has done more than produce a winner and a loser. It has punctured a narrative.