Kiambu Governor Ferdinand Waititu comes off many as a hard nut to crack but even he has a soft spot that takes very special circumstances to trigger.
On this particular day, in August 2017, Baba Yao as he is popularly known was being sworn in as the second governor of Kiambu County.
The governor who had worn a stylish blue pin-stripped suit, sat in the front row and eagerly waited to take his oath.
At one point during the ceremony, his mother was brought on stage and by the look of things she had brought with her as much emotion as she could carry.
She was received by her son who was about the ascend to the top county seat.
After the two embraced each other, Waititu started sobbing with tears of joy.
Prior to taking the reins at Kiambu, Governor Waititu's political career had its dramatic ups and downs.
In 2012, retired President Mwai Kibaki suspended Waititu from his duties as the Water and Irrigation Assistant Minister after he was charged with incitement to violence and hate speech.
In 2014, Baba Yao was barred from holding office by the High Court due to integrity issues but that did not hold him back.
Though he lost the Nairobi gubernatorial election to Evans Kidero in 2013, Waititu was elected as the Kabete MP in 2015 after the area MP George Muchai was murdered.
He then went on to dethrone former Kiambu Governor William Kabogo in 2017.
Watch the video of Governor Waititu crying during his inauguration ceremony.
