Editor's note: Stephen Ndegwa is a Nairobi-based communication expert, lecturer-scholar at the United States International University-Africa, author and international affairs columnist. The article reflects the author's opinions and not necessarily the views of CGTN.

Politicians the world over are a peculiar breed of people. Left to their own designs, they can mortgage the countries they lead if that is the only way left to stay in power. In cognizance of the foregoing folly, established democracies have enacted strict checks and balances to guard against the misuse of power by politicians.

Still, there are times when leaders like UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson will use trickery to hang on to their positions when under siege. In the last several weeks, Johnson has been desperately fighting to remain prime minister even as his government falls like a house of bricks following revelations that he attended a farewell party at the height of the COVID-19 lockdown in January 2021.

At a time when the rest of the country was religiously observing the pandemic restrictions to save the country from another devastating wave, it is utterly shocking that the prime minister sneaked behind them to have his fun with a privileged few. It is inexplicable how the resignation of at least five of Johnson's closest aides from Downing Street has left him the last man standing.

Clearly, politics is a dirty game. After sacrificing his aides, Johnson now seeks to appease the galleries of both of his Conservative MPs and the British public. In a shocking announcement on February 9, the prime minister announced that he would totally remove all COVID-19 restrictions regardless of any views to the contrary. 

Even for a politician seeking to save his neck from the chopping board, this is as reckless as it gets. The PM himself has regularly acknowledged the fact that the pandemic is not to be trifled with, having undergone a horrific experience with the coronavirus in March 2020. He admitted that his life hanged on a string after going through a stint at the intensive care unit. It is also a slap on the face of medics at the country's National Health Service (NHS), who he acknowledged saved his life.

At its peak in the UK, COVID-19 overwhelmed the NHS. Images of thousands desperately seeking medical attention were aired and published globally. May be Johnson would be in the tally of those who did not make it were he not privileged by virtue of his position. It is only fair that he returns the favor by protecting the vulnerable, even if they might be in the minority.

Latest statistics from the Johns Hopkins University show that the pandemic has recorded more than 18 million confirmed cases and claimed almost 160,000 lives in the country. As the prime minister was making the announcement, an additional 68,214 confirmed daily cases were announced on Wednesday. Currently, 91 percent of Britons aged 12 years old and over have had their first vaccine dose, 85 percent have had their second, and 65 percent have had a booster shot.

Johnson's actions give a deceptive notion that the pandemic is over in the UK. It goes against the advice by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres who on February 9 noted that the war against the pandemic will be won "only if vaccines, tests and treatments are made available to all people." So even if hypothetically the UK has crossed the dangerous threshold, the country is not safe if the coronavirus is still spreading elsewhere.

But Johnson would be fooling himself if he thinks that the British cannot see through his obvious stunt. For instance, the "Mirror" termed it "a dead cat COVID-19 announcement to distract from trials over his leadership." The abruptness of the announcement also betrays Johnson's increasing desperation.

Whether the prime minister will manage to lead his people down the garden path is another issue altogether. His party seem undecided, perhaps a feeling that none among them was virtuous enough to throw the first stone, having broken the rules themselves but were not discovered while at it.

If indeed he survives the sack, it will also be an indictment of the generally conservative British society which is renowned for being sticklers for law and order. Still, they could be fearing a vacuum in a political field that currently has no inspiring figure to replace Johnson. 

Anyway, Johnson has managed to muddy the waters and keep his countrymen confused and guessing with his gift of the gab. Experts wait to see reactions in the coming few days. With this announcement, however, he could have passed the Rubicon in his premiership.

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