Many politicians who have dined and wined with the former Speaker of the National Assembly Farah Maalim describe him as a sober and down-to-earth fellow.
According to their accounts, he rarely indulges in controversial and destructive politics, which allowed him to get along politically with other political personalities in the country.
But on September 29, 2017, the former Lagdera MP stripped these commendable qualities and engaged in a fierce scuffle with Somali’s former Telecommunications Minister Mohamed Mursa in a Nairobi hotel.
The one-minute CCTV footage obtained at the hotel showed the visibly annoyed former legislator turning to the ex-minister with the first blow as the recipient tried to shield his face with both hands.
It is at this stage that the ex-minister signalled at an official to intervene and stop the fight, but Mr Maalim surged toward the former minister pushing him metres away with spontaneous blows and kicks.
Sensing the escalation of the ugly fight, more people come in and tried to get in between the two suited men, and moments later the ex-minister was escorted out of the hotel amid shouting while Farah Maalim closely followed him.
It is unclear whether the duo continued fighting after escorting out of the hotel as the CCTV cameras failed to capture this.
However, Farah Maalim, later on, issued an apology, “No politician feels good about such an incident, and it is an action that I, my family and community apologize, we are apologizing to the community."