Fred Matiang’i’s recently added responsibilities shouldn’t come as a surprise to many, as he has shown competence and ability in every ministry he has been left to take charge of.
Born in Borabu, the father of two has a diverse career spanning university lecturing, consulting for global organisations and working with Parliament among others.
Matiang’i is a Seventh Day Adventist who is said to be devoted to excellence and has made sure that he makes tremendous changes wherever he is posted by the President.
Matiang’i, who was once described by Knut as “a bull in a China shop”, has rattled many people’s nerves since he joined the Cabinet in 2013 with his firm and at times combative way of handling issues.
He was first appointed as the Minister in charge of ICT, where he oversaw the successful migration from analogue to digital.
Despite resistance from a group of industry players, Matiang’i stood his ground, making Kenya one of Africa’s first nations to migrate to the digital era.
After his role at the ICT, he took over the at the Ministry of Education in mid-2015, making drastic changes to the entire system in what shook the sector.
Matiang’i took bold and timely steps to reform the education sector, the core of this was changes in the management of exams.
He disbanded the Kenya National Examinations Council’s board over irregularities in the 2015 KCPE and KCSE.
Matiang’i’s presence at the ministry has been praised by many. Kenyans pleaded with Uhuru not to remove him from that docket but their pleas were not heard.
Matiang’i made radical changes in the education sector. He earned the sobriquet “the Magufuli of Kenya” because of his impromptu visits to public schools.
Tanzanian President John Magufuli is known to make impromptu visits to institutions. With his attitude and his stun nature, Matiang’i took over at the Interior ministry after the demise of Joseph Nkaissery.
The President appointed him after seeing the changes he made in the Education sector. He was seen as a man who would bring change to the docket with his ‘no-nonsense’ attitude.
And to many, the CS has not disappointed since he took over the role in 2017. Sources within State House told the Star that the Council settled on Matiang’i due to his “firmness and commitment to a course”.
Matiang’i, while occupying one of the highest dockets a public civil servant can hold, has not been short of conflicts with the opposition.
During the 2017 General Election, Matiangi took a hard stance against the opposition protests aimed at the IEBC.
His ministry, which the national police falls under, would clash with the opposition violently during their demonstrations.
After the ‘swearing-in’ of ODM leader Raila Odinga in January 2018, Matiang’i outlawed the opposition National Resistance Movement, gazetting the movement as an organised criminal sect.
Following this, officers from the Flying Squad picked up some individuals aligned to the opposition and some media personalities for questioning regarding their association with the swearing-in of Raila.