Kenneth Matiba
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Kenneth Stanley Njindo Matiba Hon | |
|---|---|
| Leader of Opposition | |
| In office 1992–1997 | |
| President | Daniel arap Moi |
| Member of Parliament for Kiharu | |
| In office 1992–1997 | |
| President | Daniel arap Moi |
| Minister of Transport and Communications | |
| In office 1983 – December 1988 | |
| President | Daniel arap Moi |
| Minister of Health | |
| In office 1983–1988 | |
| President | Daniel arap Moi |
| Minister of Culture and Social Services | |
| In office 1983–1988 | |
| President | Daniel arap Moi |
| Member of Parliament for Mbiri | |
| In office 1979–1990 | |
| President | Daniel arap Moi |
| Chairman of the Kenya Football Federation | |
| In office 1974–1978 | |
| President | Jomo Kenyatta |
| Permanent Secretary for Commerce | |
| In office 1964–1968 | |
| President | Jomo Kenyatta |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1 June 1932[1] Murang'a, Kenya |
| Died | 15 April 2018 (aged 85) |
| Party | Saba Saba Asili |
| Spouse | Edith Matiba |
| Children | Susan Matiba Raymond Matiba Ivy Matiba Julie Matiba Gitau Matiba |
| Alma mater | Makerere University (BA in Sociology, Geography and History.)[2] |
Kenneth Stanley Njindo Matiba (1 June 1932 – 15 April 2018) was a Kenyan politician and an activist for democracy who came in at second place in the 1992 presidential election. In November 2007, he announced that he would stand as a presidential candidate in the December 2007 election,[3] where he was placed seventh, with 8,046 votes.
Matiba became a senior civil servant at age 31. Before Kenya attained its independence in December 1963, he became the first indigenous African Permanent Secretary for Education (in May of that year).[4] Matiba was mentored by Carey Francis, headmaster of Alliance High School, who lobbied for his promotion to permanent secretary. In 1964, Matiba was appointed Permanent Secretary for Commerce under Minister Mwai Kibaki.[4]
Matiba continued to succeed during the post-colonial period, helped by his connection to the Kiambu family of Musa Gitau, one of the first Africans to become a minister in the Kenyan Presbyterian Church (Matiba is Gitau's son-in-law). Gitau also influenced Jomo Kenyatta, having taught him at the PCEA Center, Thogoto, Kikuyu. In the patron-client reward system established by Kenyatta after independence, such connections were important to success in the public and private sectors. Matiba later left his civil-service career for one in the hospitality industry, establishing the Alliance Group of Hostels based on the South Coast. He also invested in exclusive private schools, including Hillcrest Preparatory (founded by Frank Thompson) and Hillcrest Secondary School.
Matiba was chairman of the Kenya Football Federation from 1974 to 1978, and was elected to the Kenyan Parliament in the 1983 general elections from the Mbiri Constituency (later renamed Kiharu) in the Muranga District.[5] He served as Minister of Transport and Communications under the KANU administration led by President Daniel arap Moi, resigning in December 1988.
