The young don’t know and don’t care who is. The old have long moved on.
So, Kenneth Stanley Njindo Matiba, pioneer civil servant, sports enthusiast, tycoon, politician, dreamer of dreams, political detainee and now bankrupt politician is broken and ailing in obscurity.
Yet this is the hands-on manager who once mulled over starting his own airline in 1967 to airlift his farm produce abroad.
According to the standard newspaper, Matiba, then Attorney-General Charles Njonjo and the late John Michuki, had already bought a British-made aircraft for 65,000 sterling pounds (Sh9.2 million at current rates), but their pet project collapsed after they were accused of attempting to topple East African Airways. The aircraft was flown back to England, ending the big dream.
Matiba dreamt so big and invested so heavily in hotels and the education sector that in 1978, while aged 48, he was one of Kenya’s youngest indigenous millionaires.
His huge investment included the prestigious Hillcrest Group of Schools, several five-star hotels along the coast and in central Kenya and, of course, The People newspaper.
But back in 1964, when he served as permanent secretary, earning Sh3,200 a month, a local bank denied him a loan.
However, that never slowed down his vigour to establish a multi-billion empire. But those days are long gone for the man who helped shape Kenya’s multi-party political landscape.
The man famed for the ‘Kuuga na gwika’ (kusema na kutenda) slogan, almost became the president of Kenya. However, it was feared that as a leader, he probably would not have gelled well with Asians, whom he once reportedly threatened to kick out of Kenya if he took over the helms of power.
Lawyer and politician Paul Muite believes Matiba in his heyday was a strong-willed politician, but one who mingled easily with ordinary citizenry, a good-hearted man and a true leader.
“Matiba would have certainly implemented economic and social programmes to improve the lot of ordinary people.
He would have closed the gap between the haves and the have-nots,” observes Muite.
A man of numerous firsts, Matiba was the first indigenous Kenyan to venture into the tourist hotel business, as well as being one of the only three African permanent secretaries serving in pre-independent Kenya.
He was also the first Kenyan to serve as executive chairman of East African Breweries Limited (EABL), then known as Kenya Breweries.
Additionally, he was the first Kikuyu elected chairman of the Kenya Football Association (KFA) in 1974.
He also became the first minister under president Daniel arap Moi’s regime to quit from cabinet and, subsequently, among the first leaders to spearhead the fight for multi-party democracy in the country.
Matiba was groomed into politics by Carey Francis, the legendary Alliance High School headmaster, who pushed for his promotion to permanent secretary in the Jomo Kenyatta government.
He proceeded to build an outstanding business dynasty that, sadly, now lies in ruins.
