This man Kindiki: Second in command but first in the shadow

President William Ruto during the swearing-in of the third Deputy President of the Republic of Kenya, H.E Prof. Kithure Kindiki, presided over by the Chief Justice Martha Koome, at the KICC Grounds, Nairob.[Courtesy]

The resignation of Tanzania’s Vice-President Emmanuel Nchimbi has done more than create a vacancy at the top of the country’s executive.

It has reopened a bigger and uncomfortable question across East Africa: what does it really mean to be the second-in-command when political power remains firmly concentrated in the hands of the President?