Former Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang'i made headlines on several occasions following the arrest and deportation of President William Ruto's allies when he served as the second in command.
Matiang'i made some controversial remarks which saw him clash with some of Ruto's loyalists.
Here are some famous Matiang'i quotes from his reign as the Interior CS.
Miguna Miguna Deportation Saga
Matiang'i dismissed reports that Miguna's forceful deportation from Kenya was politically motivated.
"We are not in these jobs to be popular, we are here to do the right thing," Matiang'i responded to Miguna Miguna's deportation saga on April 3, 2018, while appearing before the national assembly.
Harun Aydin Deportation Saga
On Friday, August 13, 2021, Matiang'i was forced to respond to the details regarding the deportation of Harun Aydin, a Turkish investor.
While appearing before National Assembly’s Committee on Administration and National Security, Matiang'i dared MPs to give proof of Harun's investments.
"Is he an investor?, which areas has he invested in and what is the status of these investments? Was he deported? Explain the allegations that the government apologised for the deportation if it really happened,” Matiang'i stated.
"When this gentleman was given a work permit, we noticed he was moving around. He was in Sudan, Goma, Zanzibar and Entebbe. One of our sister security agents flagged up this man when they noticed he was travelling around the region in the company of people involved in money laundering,” he added.
Downgrading of Ruto's Security
Matiang'i dismissed reports that Ruto's security had been withdrawn. While appearing before the National Assembly, the former Interior CS indicated that Ruto had over 250 officers assigned to him.
“We take this matter seriously as it is also a matter of the image of the country. We are not jokers. The decision was not whimsical," Matiang'i stated.
Matiang'i responding to Ruto's claim that NPR had been withdrawn
July 27, 2022, Matiang'i dispelled reports that the government had withdrawn the National Police Reservists in the Rift Valley region. Instead, Matiang'i called out Ruto, referring to him as a liar.
"To be very honest, I don't like commenting on some of these petty political things because some people lie all the time like it is a career. You saw those lies yesterday. They lie about anything probably the only true thing about themselves is their name," Matiang'i castigated Ruto.
UDA Claims of Azimio Using Chiefs to Campaign
Before August General Election, Ruto claimed that the Interior CS and his Principal Secretary, Karanja Kibicho, were “intimidating” chiefs and other junior administrators to compel them to support Raila.
"These two gentlemen (Matiang’i and Kibicho) must know that there is a shortage of fools in Kenya. What you’ve been telling the chiefs, have been relayed to us by the same people. They are actually complaining of the constant harassment," Ruto stated on Thursday, August 4, 2022, while addressing journalists at his Karen residence in Nairobi.
In a rebuttal, Matiang’i insisted all meetings held with chiefs were held in public, not secretly, as alleged.
"Government is not a secret society which meets under a tree and conspires. In most cases, we take note of these meetings," he stated.
"These unsubstantiated allegations are consistent with frequent, unfounded, and unconscionable attacks against the government and public officers by the Deputy President. The government is run through established and well-known structures and accountability channels," Matiang'i added.
Other Matiang'i Quotes include
" The police have all the rights to search every house and to arrest any individual they believe has committed a crime. Let us not politicise the work of our police officers."
" The police cannot arrest you for nothing. You must have done something that requires them to arrest you and in any case, if you sure you haven't committed any criminal act, why protest the arrest?"
