For a couple of weeks, the sacking of sports minister Rashid Echesa could cause sharp political differences between ODM leader Raila Odinga and his political nemesis William Ruto with the two sides warming up already for the duel.
Last year in July, at a public rally in Western Kenya, a furious Echesa accused Raila Odinga, who was then meeting President Uhuru Kenyatta at the coast, of plotting to have him kicked out of cabinet.
"We have one Government led by Uhuru and William Ruto, and those are the only people I will pledge my priority to and not to you, Raila Odinga. I want to dare you Raila, if you have the appointing authority, come and sack me," he said.
Since then, Mr Echesa, a close ally of the DP, has been firing shots at his mentor with Raila often responding through Kakamega Senator Cleophas Malala or ODM Secretary General Edwin Sifuna.
In an interview on Thursday with the Nation, an already withdrawn Echesa accused his political rivals of plotting for his cabinet exit but insisted that he will never regret.
“They are wishing for me to be sacked as if they will all be appointed to take over. They should know it is God who uplifts an individual to whatever level he wants,” he told the Nation by phone, a day before his exit.
While Echesa is yet to speak following his ouster, his boss William Ruto, at Garissa on Friday, accused Raila of plotting to distabilise Jubilee using the handshake.
Although Odinga does not have powers to sack or hire, his recent cordial relationship with Uhuru and the subsequent appointment of Prof George Magoha, who happens to hail from Raila's Siaya backyard, could raise eyebrows among the political elites.