Matiang'i jets back to the country amid speculation over presidential ambitions

Former Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang'i, has jetted back to the country from the United States, amid speculations over his intentions to run for President in the upcoming 2027 General Election. 

Matiang'i touched down at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA), at 11.40 pm on Thursday, April 17, aboard Qatar Airways from Washington.

However, he declined to address the press but "thanked God for the good journey" off-record, saying he would speak to the country later. 

Matiang'i was received by various leaders including Jubilee Party Secretary-General Jeremiah Kioni, Kisii Senator Richard Onyonka, and nominated Senator Gloria Orwoba among others.

The former CS jets back amid widespread speculation over his presidential ambitions, reports that broke during the June 25 Gen Z-led protests, talks that have since remained active in the country's political scene.

Over the period, the former CS who served during former President Uhuru Kenyatta's tenure, has remained tight-lipped on the matter.

His arrival comes shortly after the Jubilee party also declared support for his candidature in the 2027 polls.

On several occasions, the party's Secretary-General Kioni has announced the party's support for Matiang'i even as they wooed him to fly the party's flag.

"We've settled on Matiang'i as our candidate. Not to mean that he becomes an eventual presidential candidate but a presidential candidate within the party who would then join others in coming up with one person who I believe as a coalition we will be able to back," Kioni said in February at the party's headquarters in Nairobi. 

A section of Kisii leaders including Senator Onyonka have also publicly endorsed his candidature. 

This emerged after discussions about Matiang'i plans to challenge President Ruto in the upcoming elections flooded social media, with the talks attracting opposition and support in equal measure. 

At the same time, recent reports of his engagement with a Canadian lobby firm, Dickens & Madison to strategise his campaigns ahead of the 2027 elections, have also hinted at Matiang'i running for the country's top seat.

He has been engaged as an employee of the World Bank based in Washington DC, United States, a role his insiders say he may quit to join politics.

“Yesterday, Matiang’i called me from where he is working for the World Bank in Latin America. He has decided to leave the job and come back to Kenya to join our brothers,” Onyonka said in January.