After years of playing second to Raila Odinga, ANC leader Musalia Mudavadi is finally standing up the ODM boss and has started clearing the path for a 2022 run for president.
In recent weeks, the former vice president has told off Raila on a number of issues concerning the NASA coalition, including rejecting ODM's call to have fresh presidential elections before August this year.
The ANC leader says Kenyans are tired of elections and want to move on with their lives, after last year's prolonged period of campaigns. This sharply contradicts Raila's lonely and futile push to have another election this year.
Days earlier, Mr Mudavadi revealed that Raila had betrayed the other NASA principals (Moses Wetangula, Kalonzo Musyoka and himself) when he sneaked out to be sworn as the people's president on January 30 at Uhuru Park.
These revelations have largely isolated Raila, who has now threatened to walk out of the NASA coalition and go it alone with his declining ODM party.
It must be remembered that NASA was Mudavadi's idea, and Raila was a latecomer who seemingly bullied others into making him the flag-bear, despite concerns that he could not beat President Uhuru Kenyatta in any election.
Mudavadi appears keen to claim his rightful place as the NASA leader, even as Raila is expected to disown a pre-election agreement of backing either the ANC boss, Wetangula or Musyoka.
All the NASA principals, who now do not trust each other, are likely to run against Deputy President William Ruto in 2022.