Interior CS Fred Matiang'i is undisputedly the most recognizable figure in President Uhuru Kenyatta's cabinet.
Going by the dockets and responsibilities that Uhuru entrusts him with, Matiang'i comes out as a confidant and his right-hand man.
The two reportedly first met and developed some rapport during President Mwai Kibaki’s first term when Uhuru was then the leader of Opposition.
Matiang’i was by then in charge of the Kenya Parliamentary Support Programme (KPSP) which was financing the parliamentary broadcasting service and digitising the proceedings.
They later continued to work together when Uhuru became the Deputy Prime Minister in the coalition government.
In 2013, President Kenyatta poached Matiang'i from the position of Eastern Africa Regional Representative for the Centre for International Development, Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy, in the State University of New York (SUNY).
His first responsibility was taking charge of the rollout of the e-government service - the heart of Jubilee Coalition's campaign promise of a digital revolution.
Among the projects Matiang'i was to oversee was the national transit to digital TV from analogue ahead of a switch-off deadline.
His efficiency and no-nonsense approach has seen him rise within the ranks of Jubilee as one of the most notable Cabinet secretaries in Uhuru's regime.
Matiang’i took over the ICT Ministry where he ruthlessly pushed the media to adopt the digital migration and ruled out turning back to analogue.
Despite a push by Standard Group, Nation Media Group and Royal Media Services for more time to import their transmitters and set-top boxes Matiang’i did not budge and eventually won the battle.
At the Ministry of Education, Matiang'i effectively dismantled examination cartels that had infiltrated the Kenya National Examinations Council and profited by leaking exam papers to schools and candidates.
When he took over from Jacob Thuranira Kaimenyi, the candidates who managed to score a mean grade of A plain in the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) examination, registered a drastic drop from 2,636 in 2015 to 141 candidates in 2016.
Following the sudden death of Interior CS Joseph Nkaissery just a few months to the 2017 General Election, Matiang'i was appointed the acting Interior Minister owing to his prowess at the Education ministry.
He would soon deal riots, mayhem and acrimony that marked the disputed 2017 electoral process and later on lead crackdown on corruption cartels and the importers of substandard goods.
On his gradual rise to stardom, Matiang'i has won many friends and foes alike eventually becoming the face of Jubilee’s crackdown on lawbreakers and by the ongoings, he is the man set to solidify Uhuru's legacy as the Fourth President of Kenya.
A teetotaller who doesn’t eat pork, Matiang’i is an ardent Seventh Day adherent who works on Sundays.
"Nobody is allowed to engage him on Saturdays. Only the President," a government official was quoted.
