A general sense of karma swept across the island nation as the public reacted to the news of the arrest of former president Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom.
The once powerful strongman was ordered to be held in state custody until the end of a trial on money laundering charges. Usually Yameen is a hard man to read. His stony expression had become the epitome of his rather heavy handed regime until his failed bid for re-election last year.
However, as an impatient Yameen was forced to wait more than two hours outside the court room for the hearing, the sense of anxiety that was in the air was as evident as the uneasiness on his face. He turned to his lawyers to complain over the delay as he grew more and more agitated.
One can't help but wonder if that was exactly how his rivals would have felt including his elder half brother and former president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom when he was once forced to wait for a hearing for more than five hours.
What goes around comes around.
At a hearing at the criminal court in the capital Male, on Monday, prosecutors alleged the former president tried to bribe a prosecution witness to change their testimony.
Yameen himself stood up to valiantly speak in his defence. As he futilely tried to convince the very judge who had granted indefinite remand to many of his rivals, the concern on his face quickly turned to despair. Barring the defence lawyers, there was no one in his corner. Not a single supporter, not one party member and more glaringly not even a member of his family to lean on for support.
What goes around comes around.
He pleaded the judge to consider his chronic back problems as a reason to deny the prosecutors' request. But similar to for so many in the not too distant past, Yameen's pleas fell on deaf ears.
What goes around comes around.
As the gavel came down on his immediate fate, many outside the court building rejoiced. Much like his supporter once did, every time when of his rivals was jailed - one after another like off a factory line.
What goes around comes around.
Before he was ushered onto the speedboat to be taken away to the main prison in Maafushi island, Yameen, before stepping off the shores of the capital from once where he ruled with absolute authority, he turned around to acknowledge the handful of supporters who had gathered by then.
A scene the archipelago has grown accustomed to. The archives of every media outlet in the country would be laden with similar pictures of Yameen's political rivals. One could even be forgiven for mistaking it for the same one.
What goes around comes around indeed.
