Does former powerful Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Okengo Matiang’i want to be President of Kenya?

If so so, when, why and how?

For almost a year now, Matiang’s name has been on the lips of Kenyans as a possible candidate in the 2027 presidential contest against incumbent William Samoei Ruto.

He himself has not made his position on the matter known. However, his candidacy has consistently been proposed by Jubilee Party secretary general Jeremiah Kioni.

Kioni’s suggestion has been echoed – also consistently – by outspoken Kitutu Chache MP Richard Momoima Onyonka.

Both Kioni and Onyonka have not told us why they think Matiang’i fits the bill insofar as picking our next Head of State is concerned.

Kioni says his party settled on Matiang’i because its leadership wants to float a candidate from outside what has come to be referred to as Murima, otherwise known as the Mt Kenya region.

For his part, Onyonka tells us that the former minister should be elected as our next commander-in-chief because he is from his Omugusii community.

More reasons

I want to believe that in the coming days, weeks and months both Kioni and Onyonka will be providing more reasons for thinking Matiang’i can be President of the Republic of Kenya.

However, though Matiang’i has not pronounced himself on the matter, Kioni’s declarations carry considerable weight because he has fashioned himself as the unofficial spokesperson of retired President Uhuru Kenyatta.

On any subject, the word of the former President is taken seriously. That is why a Matiang’i candidacy – as floated by Kioni – carries weight as it translates into the former minister being Uhuru’s preferred presidential candidate.

Last week, some politicians from the Kisii region went to the media to appeal to former Chief Justice David Kenani Maraga to shelve his presidential ambition in favour of Matiang’i, arguing that his candidacy would split the Omugusii vote.

None of them, however – just like Kioni and Onyonka – presented Matiang’i’s credentials as a presidential candidate. One hopes they soon will.

Not long ago, People Daily carried a story in which it was reported that the Kenya Kwanza regime had lined up more than 10 criminal and misdemeanour charges it plans to bring against Matiang’i once, and if, he declares his presidential bid.

It is against this background that I have started wondering whether actually Matiang’i is keen on running for President, considering the thinning away time in the countdown to the 2027 General Election.

Why has he not pronounced himself on the matter, leaving Kioni and Onyonka hoarse as they trumpet his intention?

The fact that Uhuru backs Matiang’i as a contender in the next election – that is, if Kioni is to be believed – places the former minister in a vantage position.

Take gauntlet

However, being proposed by a retired Head of State or any other famous, if not prominent, name does not automatically guarantee one victory in an election.

It is not lost to many that Uhuru – while still serving as President – threw his weight behind former Prime Minister Raila Odinga in the 2022 presidential race in which the latter lost to then Deputy President and now President William Ruto.

It goes without saying that, outside the proposals from the Jubilee Party, Onyonka and other Kisii politicians, Matiang’i himself must take the gauntlet and tell Kenyans why he wants to be our next President. He must work for it.

It is disingenuous of Matiang’i to continue hiding in the bushes hoping that Kenyans will vote for him just because he has been proposed by a popular former President. That will not work.

Matiang’i must come out of the woods, step up to the plate to toil for his ambition just like the rest of Kenyans.

Though Maraga has not publicly declared his intentions to run for the presidency, one would loudly wonder why anyone would ask him to drop his intentions in favour of Matiang’i.

In the public court, who between Maraga and Matiang’i catches the eye of Kenyans more on issues of leadership, democracy, good governance and the rule of law?

Not wanting to be sucked into Kisii political mud, that is a question I leave to the likes of Onyonka and the other Kisii politicians to answer.

But because tribes matter in Kenya, I must state that during the relaunch of Martha Karua’s party from Narc Kenya to NLP, a young man by the name Morara Kebaso caught my attention.

When invited to speak, Morara ably dissected Kenya’s political challenges and intelligently floated quality solutions to the woes.
Morara is one of the by-products of the Gen Z movement. He has identified himself as a fierce and consistent critic of the current regime.

More than one can remember, Morara has been to various parts of the country to expose stalled government projects that have bled taxpayers of billions of shillings.

For that noble effort, young Morara has paid the price: He has time and again had a brush with State security agents keen on barring him from highlighting more government white elephants and the hot air that goes with them.

Presence and courage

Asiyekuweko, na lake haliko is a Swahili proverb that has been passed to us over generations. May Matiang’i be told.

Morara has presence and courage. He is today a household name in Kenya, where both the young and old appreciate his work and commitment. He has even formed his own political party called Inject.

It so happens that Morara is from the Kisii community, just like Matiang’i and Maraga.

My question therefore is that if these three were to be the only candidates on the presidential election ballot in 2027, which Kisii would Kenyans vote for and why?

That is a question that the handlers of Matiang’i need also to ask themselves and him as well today, not tomorrow.

— The writer is a Revise Editor with People Daily;