Matiang'i says he's ready for State House battle, party still a mystery

Former Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i has finally declared that he will contest for the presidency during the 2027 General Election, but curiously omitted his political party.

Dr Matiang’i insisted that he is not a member of Jubilee Party although its Secretary General Jeremiah Kioni has been championing his candidature. Interestingly, at least eight political parties have shown interest in working with him and that at the right time he will unveil his political vehicle.

Appearing on Citizen TV on Tuesday night, he said he is engaging other leaders since he believes no single party will form the next government and that there is need to build a strong coalition.

“Kenya does not need an all knowing saviour or ruler, it needs a hardworking, honest, consensus builder to mobilise the country and create a level of trust in people to invest the energy in moving the country to the next level. That is why I am willing to make my contribution as president in 2027,” said Matiang’i.

He denied being former President Uhuru Kenyatta project terming the suggestion as ridiculous wondering whether by virtue of having served in Cabinet for 10 years under Uhuru made him a project. Matiang’i will also have to contend to a number of scandals he is associated with in Uhuru’s government. 

Matiang’i defended his tour of Gusii region when he retuned home from the US, saying each political leader comes from somewhere and that is where they normally start their political journey. 

He said he is engaging other political bigwigs as they share ideas on what needs to be done to have the country on the right track. He has engaged former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka, DAP-K leader Eugene Wamalwa, Liberation Party of Kenya leader Martha Karua among others.

Matiang’i said under his watch he could not allow Parliament to be overrun like it happened in June last year during the Gen Z protests adding that the government should have known through intelligence what was going to happen and take necessary action.

“I wish the issues raised by Gen Z last year were addressed to avert another crisis since the President in a statement after the demonstrations showed interest of addressing them,” said Matiang’i.

He defended his record as Interior Cabinet Secretary on the manner he handled protesters after the 2017 election stating that then opposition leaders never said they will have peaceful demonstrations just like Gen Z are doing but used threatening language which made the government alert whenever they took place.

Matiang’i said then opposition leaders never sought an audience with the government after the election and went ahead to organise demonstrations, which the government could do little about after the matter was handled in the Supreme Court.

“Never during my tenure as Interior Cabinet Secretary did I ever ask the Inspector General to act in a manner that is contrary to the advice of the National Security Council, in most cases he had a plan on how he wanted to handle the various matters and would be advised accordingly,” said Matiang’i.

Matiang’i refrained from passing judgement on his successor Kipchumba Murkomen over his shoot to kill directive, saying that during his tenure he could make some declarations but the Attorney General or legal team could advise him on what was not right.

River Yala killings

“Sometimes I could be out there in the field and may make some decisions on the spur of the moment and when I get back to the office the legal team would advise me that this not the right thing to do or even sometimes the Attorney General would call me and say what you said or did is against the law and I aligned accordingly,” said Matiang’i.

He denied being involved in the River Yala killings, saying: “When we left government, the River Yala killings file was left open. We should have an inquest over the matter, if I am responsible for crimes committed by police officers then I am also responsible for all road accidents that took place and all crimes that took place during my tenure.”

He said if there are unresolved murders they should be addressed in the right way instead of people throwing political stones by having public inquests citing the cases of former IEBC official Chris Musando and businessman Jacob Juma which keep cropping up.

Matiang’i said the National Police Service is independent and Interior CS is not informed on operational issues on a day to day basis unless it is a matter of national magnitude stating that is the work of the Inspector General.

He refused to divulge details of the raid of his Nairobi residence only stating that senior security officials have spoken to him about what was planned against him.

“It was unfortunate that state officials would publish my passport details with allegations that I had ran away from the country yet I had openly traveled to Britain. I would also say I was invited to write a statement with DCI and nothing was found to charge me,” said Matiang’i.

Ruaraka land scandal

He talked about the Ruaraka land scandal, where as CS for Education the government allegedly paid Sh1.5 billion, saying the compulsory acquisition of public land is done by the  National Land Commission and that he did not have the fact on whether land is public or private and that his role was peripheral in the matter.

Matiangi said the Ruaraka land matter was handled by then National Treasury Principal Secretary Kamau Thugge and then Education Principal Secretary satisfactorily who are still serving in the government and wonderered why some individuals would want to malign his name over the issue.