For nearly four decades, Nominated MP Maina Kamanda has been at the heart of Nairobi's tough politics that only favours the brave.
At almost 70 years, the former Cabinet Minister is not just about to slow down. But for a man who announced his arrival into Nairobi politics as Ngara Ward Councillor in the defunct Nairobi City Council, his has been a brilliant political career.
His election as Starehe Constituency MP in 1997 officially marked the beginning of one of the most brilliant political careers in city politics.
After the 2002 general election, Kamanda would go on to serve in the Cabinet in the final years of President Mwai Kibaki's first term at State House. He was however swept aside by the ODM wave in 2007 as he lost his seat to Bishop Margaret Wanjiru.
Like a good political strategist, he went back to the drawing board planning on how to recapture his seat. And come 2013, he made a grand return to Parliament after an easy win which marked the beginning of the second era of Kamanda as one of the most successful politicians in Nairobi.
Though he lost to musician Jaguar in 2017 during the Jubilee party nominations, President Uhuru Kenyatta came to his rescue as he was nominated to Parliament.
After the 2018 handshake between President Kenyatta and Raila, Kamanda has emerged as the fiercest defender of the political deal.
As the most visible face of the pro-handshake "Team Kieleweke", the evergreen Kamanda has confirmed that he is not past his best days; that he will be around for as long as he wants.
However, his abrasive brand of politics has not gone unnoticed.
At one point, he found himself in a scuffle with Kiharu MP Ndindi Nyoro during a church function. Later, he was booed by a charged crowd in Kirinyaga in an event attended by Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang'i.
As a fierce critic of the Deputy President William Ruto, Kamanda has on several occasions slammed the DP for allegedly sabotaging the President's mission to unite the country through handshake and BBI.
As to whether his anti-Ruto team can stop the DP's State House bid remains to be seen.