Matiang’i sharp rise to power and humbling fall

At some point in President Uhuru Kenyatta’s second term, the then Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i was considered the second most powerful man in the country, eclipsing then Deputy President William Ruto.

His elevation followed Uhuru’s Executive Order of January 2019 which appeared to clip Ruto’s powers by assigning some core government functions to Matiang’i.

Matiang’i took to his enhanced role like a charging buffalo, often brushing Ruto and his allies on the wrong way.

While Matiang’i had exuded confidence that Azimio la Umoja presidential candidate Raila Odinga would win the August 9 election, the outcome placed him in an awkward position.

So confident was Matiang’i of a Raila victory that at one time he dismissed Ruto and his allies as “hopeless individuals wasting their resources and time roaming around the country.”

“The majority of Kenyans are where the President and Raila is and that’s where I belong,” he said, dismissing Raila’s opponents, whom he didn’t name, as hopeless.

He said the March 2018 truce between Uhuru and Raila, commonly known as the Handshake, had brought leaders together and that he could not “gamble” as far as supporting the President’s vision was concerned.

Always full of bravado and brazen in his undertakings, Matiang’i never shied away from speaking his mind, particularly when telling off Ruto.

A few days to the election, Matiang’i dismissed Ruto over claims that part of the government’s strategy to rig the presidential poll was by the Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) shutting down the Internet.

“I agree with his Excellency that Kenya has a shortage of fools and I think that applies more to some of those petty claims he makes than anything else,” Matiang’i said.

To him, Raila’s victory was done and dusted long before Kenyans cast votes.

But as fate would have it, Ruto, the UDA presidential candidate, emerged the winner of the closely contested election.

And, immediately the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) chair Wafula Chebukati declared Ruto the winner, the outspoken Matiang’i went into a spell of silence.

Shortly after Ruto had been sworn into office as the fifth President, Matiang’i deactivated his Twitter and Facebook accounts.

Flight claims

The move elicited mixed reactions with Kenyans on Twitter trolling the CS.

“Fred Matiangi has left the stage without telling us. We deserve to be told bye. @OleItumbi when you find him, please let him know that we shall gratefully remember everything about him. The Education Ministry, Internal Security and ag. Deputy President,” @TheKipFactor wrote.

His sudden exit from the public glare elicited rumours of the former CS having fled the country out of fear of reprisals from Ruto and his allies, while others claimed he had landed job with a United Nations agency.

A few weeks later, Matiang’i wrote a long farewell message to his colleagues in government as the finality of power transition became a reality.

“I humbly address this letter to you, and through you, to the rest of our colleagues who serve with you in your respective jurisdictions.

“In the life of a man, there is nothing nobler than being called to serve your country. I came to this Ministry on Saturday, 15th July 2017, at 12.50pm, following the demise of Maj-Gen(Rtd) Joseph Nkaiserry.

“It has been five years and a month of an exciting tour of duty and pleasurable service to our beloved country under the great leadership of President Uhuru. I want to thank him for bestowing his trust in me. I am humbled by the privilege to serve in his Cabinet in four different ministries over the entirety of his tenure. I can never thank him enough for this honour,” he wrote.

Matiag’i left public life the way he came in his appointment in 2013. Not much was heard of him even during the transition period, a process that was spearheaded by his office.

His Principal Secretary Karanja Kibicho represented the Ministry in the transition committee. His handover to Kithure Kindiki on Wednesday last week was one of the events that had generated a lot of interest.

However, in a surprising twist, the handover was quietly conducted away from the cameras and public glare.

Save for a tweet on the Ministry of Interior official account, nothing much was said of the handover ceremony at Harambee House, deviating from the line taken by other CSs who publicly passed their baton to their successors.

“As my tour of duty comes to an end, I exult in the pride of knowing that we have not only honoured expectations but exceeded them by important and evident milestones,” he said in the statement issued earlier.

Surprising twist

“History will vindicate our legacy. This has been made possible by working closely with you and other highly experienced, competent and dedicated colleagues in the Public Service,” he added.

During the “handshake period,”  Uhuru, through an executive order, radically reorganised his administration and established a four-tier executive authority thrusting Matiang’i into the heart of it.

The reorganisation enabled Matiang’i to take charge of the implementation and monitoring of all development projects initiated and funded by the national government through a Cabinet sub-committee.

Known as the National Development Implementation and Communication Cabinet Committee, the sub-committee placed all Cabinet secretaries, Attorney General and Head of Public Service under Matiang’i.

This appeared to clip Ruto’s powers while elevating Matiang’i.

But in the end, Matiang’i had to eat humble pie.