Maina Kamanda is a vocal Kenyan politician serving as a nominated member of parliament. Kamanda is well-known for his strong political support of the government.
Lately, the established politician has been hitting headlines following his undying support towards the ODM party leader, Raila Amolo Odinga. Raila is vying for the presidential position through Azimio La Umoja Coalition and Kamanda is one of their front soldiers in campaigns.
Kamanda is among the few leaders who have managed to maintain their relevance in the political scene for ages. As a politician the highest position, he has served is a parliamentary seat in the Starehe constituency.
Following a terrifying defeat in 2017 by a popular musician Charles Kanyi alias Jaguar. Jubilee never left him on the street as he was sent to the parliament as a nominated member of parliament.
Kamanda has declared he will no longer battle for the seat again. Instead, he has announced his intentions to run for a Senatorial position in Nairobi on a Jubilee ticket going head to head with his fellow Azimio soldier Edwin Sifuna.
Maina Kamanda Age and Place of Birth
Kamanda was in 1951 in Kenya.
Education
He began his schooling in Kagaa Primary school between 1964 and 1970. From the primary level, he joined City High School for his o-levels.
Following strict academic rules on elective positions, Kamanda joined Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) and pursued a certificate course from 2011-12. He later returned to the institution to study Bachelor of Arts in Management.
Maina Kamanda Family and Wife
Kamanda might be very vocal about many things but one thing he has managed to keep under wraps is his family life. He has disclosed zero information concerning his parents or wife.
However, he has a son by the name of Michael Kamanda, a businessman who once served as a nominated councilor. He has also served as a director at the Kenya Ports Authority board.
Maina Kamanda Salary and Net Worth
Despite being a nominated member of parliament he earns the same salary as the elected member of parliaments. According to reports, a member of parliament in Kenya earns a taxable salary of Ksh532,500 without allowances which may add up to Ksh 300k.
Being in politics for such a long time and earning heavily Kamanda must have accumulated a reasonable net worth for himself, estimated to be around Ksh 500million and above.
Career
He began his career in the hospitality industry serving as an assistant manager at Stag’s Head hotel and also managing Hillcrest Hotel.
In 1979, Kamanda began his political journey vying as a ward councilor, a seat that transformed to MCA in 2010. He managed to convince the people of Ngara and they trusted him with the position.
Kamanda went on to serve in that position for over 15 years before he vied for a higher position in 1997. Having accumulated enough experience in the political field during the Moi era, he decided to level up and vie for a parliamentary seat in 1997.
He went ahead and won the election taking over from Stephen Mwangi. In 2002, he joined the winning party National Rainbow Coalition (NARC) party.
As NARC took over the government from Moi Kamanda was also re-elected as a member of parliament. In 2006, he was appointed as the Minister for Gender and Children Affairs serving until 2007.
Kamanda served as an elected member for 10 years before Bishop Margaret Wanjiru snatched the seat from him in 2007 on an ODM ticket. Despite losing the seat in 2007, it wasn’t the end of the road for him as he made an impressive comeback in 2013 and reclaimed his seat on the TNA party ticket.
Five years down the line it was now time to return to “Wanjiku” and ask for votes. In 2017, he went back to the ballot this time around facing “Kigeugeu” hitmaker Charles Kanyi Jaguar.
Jaguar went on to defeat him in the 2017 general election. Kamanda was then nominated to the National Assembly by the Jubilee Party.
As we approach the 2022 election Kamanda has declared his bid to run for Nairobi’s Senatorial position.