Nairobi — With just a stroke of the pen, Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Okengo Matiangi was promoted to chair the National Development Implementation and Communication Cabinet Committee by outgoing President Uhuru Kenyatta.
The Executive Order Number 1 of January 22, 2019, granted Matiangi sweeping powers to oversee all the national government programs with the committee comprising all the Cabinet Secretaries, The Attorney-General, and the Head of the Public Service being the members of the secretariat.
With this order, Matiangi was only answerable to President Kenyatta making him the second most powerful after the Head of State.
Matiangi was last seen in public when he shared photos of him voting on August 9.
Ordinarily, the role would have been taken by Deputy President William Ruto, now president-elect following the August 9 General Election eventhough Raila Odinga has appealed the electoral commission's decision.
The move by the Head of State put him on a collision course with DP Ruto and his allies leading to strained relations between the two former allies turned foes during the Jubilee government's second term.
While some leaders downplayed the move, DP Ruto's allies described it as a deliberate attempt by President Kenyatta to strip his deputy of his powers as enshrined in the constitution.
After the order, Matiangi and DP Ruto clashed publicly on multiple occasions on various issues including the involvement of the Cabinet Secretaries in politics.
Sometimes their arguments turned ugly with the two calling each other names.
On June 3 this year, Matiangi defended the formation of the National Development Implementation and Communication Cabinet Committee (NDICC) by President Kenyatta, saying it played a key role in "cutting down the bureaucratic nonsense to zero."
Matiangi said the formation of NDICC is largely responsible for the fast delivery of development projects in the country such as the recently completed Nairobi Expressway.
"The reason why you have seen accelerated work happening in the last four years and five years as a result of NDICC is because as a result of seating together all of us as cabinet ministers and seating together in an inter-agency manner we cut down the bureaucratic nonsense to zero," Matiangi said two months ago.
While Matiangi defended President Kenyatta for formulating the NDICC, Ruto accused him of failing to deliver on various projects.
Earlier on May 1, DP Ruto in response to President Kenyatta's claim that he deserted his government, attributed the reassignment of his duties to Matiangi as the main cause of the government's failure to deliver on its agenda.
The second in command regretted that the Cabinet had not met for over 2 years and added that he was still available to serve as the President's principal deputy.
"I feel your pain. Those you assigned my responsibilities and 'project' mzee have let you down miserably," Ruto said. "They bangled our BIG4, killed our party, and wasted your 2nd term. Boss, am available. Just a phone call away. Sadly, the last cabinet was two years ago," Ruto tweeted in reference to Matiangi further soaring relations with boss President Kenyatta who opted to support Azimio presidential candidate Raila Odinga who lost in the election.
However, as the country comes to terms with the declaration of Deputy President William Ruto as the President-elect, by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), the fate of Matiangi hangs in the balance.
Since the declaration of the results three weeks ago, CS Matiangi is yet to appear in public or make any comment following the recent developments in the country's political arena, with the transfer of power imminent.
As the transition committee prepares itself for the country's next President, the question in the minds of many is, What next for Matiangi?
The answer might come sooner than later if the constitutional timelines of the swearing-in of the newly elected president is anything to go by.
Matiangi had already publicly pronounced himself that he would back the Azimio La Umoja Presidential candidate Raila Odinga come what may.
In his last security briefing on August 5, just four days to elections, Matiangi told reporters that even public officials have their own political preferences.
Matiangi said every Kenyan has a democratic right to support their preferred candidates no matter the position they hold in the society or government.
"I will not lie to you, I have inclinations and I have preferences, but I will also be very sincere with you, I will deliver on my constitutional obligations without fear or favour. When it comes to that, I will remove my inclinations and serve," he said.
Matiangi also differed with Ruto and his allies over the alleged use of chiefs by the State to bungle the elections at one point describing the claims as "ridiculous".
On August 2, Matiangi clarified that his meetings with grassroot administration officials were purely because "they are colleagues".
The CS vowed to continue calling chiefs and working with them until he leaves office.
"We meet chiefs all the time, that is the job we do, that is who we are supposed to work with," he said.
Another point of contention between the Interior CS and the president-elect was the withdrawal of GSU guards from the State residence of the Deputy President in Karen on August 26 last year who were replaced with the Administration Police personnel.
While denying that the move amounted to a downgrade, Matiangi told a parliamentary committee on security that the State retained his close protection unit comprised of Presidential Escort Unit with a total of 74 officers.
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"The accurate position is that the security of the Deputy President was reassigned. The Security of Government Buildings Unit took over from the General Service Unit," he said on September 1, 2021.
He said the second layer of security comprising of GSU was changed to Administration Police after consultations among national security agencies.
Matiangi said a total of 257 officers guard installations of interest to the Deputy President including a hangar at Wilson airport and his farms.
The change of security that caught many Kenyans by surprise including a section of Ruto's critics followed President Uhuru Kenyatta's remarks daring the Deputy President to resign from government instead of criticizing it from within.
However, if Ruto is sworn into office, Kenyans would be watching closely to see his next course of action in regard to the leadership of the Interior Ministry
Speaking after being declared President-Elect DP Ruto assured those who had worked against him that they have "nothing to fear saying there is no room for vengeance and looking back we are looking into the future."
"We do not have the luxury to point fingers and apportion blame. We must close ranks and work together for a functioning, democratic and prosperous Kenya," he added.
The President-Elect also promised to serve all Kenyans no matter their political inclinations.
