There are very few politicians that can match the profile of Maina Kamanda -- he has made his name through unrest and battles in the political scene. From riots to political wars of words.
In the last election Mr Kamanda was on record disgracing the now governor of Nairobi, Mike Sonko. He questioned the governor spending of cash in terms of rescue teams, saying he does not represent any honest source of wealth and said voters should not let Nairobi go to the dogs when endorsing Peter Kenneth as the best pick for the capital.
These comments caused a split in Nairobi politics and the governor found the remarks uncalled for but later won the nomination and elections. Kamanda was also part and parcel of Peter Kenneth's embarrassing defeat in the elections with an inferior political assault strategy where former Katanga MP was not in tune with the ground masses and only seen as a corporate caretaker by the majority of voters.
The political strategy also came to bite him as he employed his veteran political status strategy in Starehe, believing his position in politics and call logs with powerful politicians was enough to ensure a direct nomination. He was later embarrassed by a newcomer, musician Charles Njagua, alias Jaguar and went ahead with his chest-thumping political approach and took the nomination certificate from the Jubilee house.
Jaguar was left in tears as his victory was stolen by Kamanda and it took chaos and the presidential intervention for him to be acknowledged as winner.
Mr Kamanda's chest thumping ways remind us of the dark days of politics and do not represent the strides we have taken as a democratic republic. Somehow he was rewarded and is now a nominated member.
This has not stopped him from causing political divisions in the Jubilee party, as he is seen employing a divide and conquer approach which directly target Deputy President William Ruto.
Maina Kamanda (centre) with Deputy President William Ruto. [Source/Kenyannews.co.ke]
He feels that the Mt Kenya region should not automatically support DP Ruto by backing former Jubilee Vice Chairman David Murathe, who he claims was the voice of the silent majority in Jubilee party.
In an interview with Nation, Kamanda said that when time comes most of the party members will echo the sentiments of Mr Murathe. Many Kenyans believe that he is not the right person to air such sentiments, considering he has lost his glorified political status by losing his seat to political rookies twice -- Margaret Wanjiru and Njagua.
Kamanda has been behind many failed political campaigns, such as that of Dennis Waweru, who had a well-oiled campaign with a multimillion shilling war chest. He lacked the proper strategist, making him lose the Dagoretti South nomination, despite being a gubernatorial hopeful days earlier. Many political analysts say his association with Kamanda made him lose to an inexperienced comedian.
Same story with Peter Kenneth -- lost hundreds of millions of shillings with his political car taker being Maina Kamanda and went on to lose the elections in an embarrassing way. Let's not forget he once fronted Anne Waiguru and later Eugene Wamalwa for the Nairobi top seat. This shows how much he is a political hired gun and at a price he will pledge his periodic allegiance to your political journey. But history has proved success is highly unlikely.
Facts remain he does not carry the glorious influence he once had as a Mt Kenya kingpin and has no right to speak on behalf of the region or the Jubilee party as a whole.
During his stint as an elected leader, he lacked a vision for his constituency and was excited by unnecessary tension. Now he is helping to create division to one of the most successful political unions in Africa, which was formed by 14 parties. This has to stop, it’s not always about money.