NAIROBI, Kenya – Former Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i has returned to the country with a strong message to Kenya’s youth: turn your energy into electoral power by registering to vote ahead of the 2027 General Election.
Speaking Thursday night at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA), shortly after landing from the United States, Matiang’i made an impassioned appeal to young Kenyans—especially the Gen Z generation—urging them to prepare for the next polls if they hope to influence real political change.
“Let’s organise ourselves, and please, Gen Z, we can do as much as we want,” Matiang’i told a crowd of enthusiastic youths who had gathered to receive him. “But if we are not registering and preparing to vote, we have not succeeded.”
The former CS, who has recently emerged as a key player in the opposition wing aligned with Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, said the youth must translate their activism into meaningful political participation by showing up at the ballot.
“The drive is that we register and prepare ourselves to participate effectively and in a quality manner in the forthcoming electoral process,” he added.
Dr. Fred Matiang’i’s message to GenZ upon arriving in the country…“We can do as much as we want but if we are not registering and preparing to vote, we have not succeeded. We must prepare to participate effectively and in a quality manner, in the forthcoming elections.”
Matiang’i’s homecoming comes after a month-long stay in the U.S., where he formally resigned from his position at the World Bank, ending a two-year stint that began in September 2022.
A source familiar with his plans said the resignation clears the way for his full-time re-entry into Kenyan politics.
His return also coincides with a major rebranding push by the Jubilee Party—widely seen as laying the groundwork for his anticipated 2027 presidential run.
While addressing the crowd, Matiang’i also called for national unity and political tolerance, stressing the need for dialogue across Kenya’s deeply divided political spectrum.
“We are all one family in our country,” he said. “However you think or play your politics, our country must always be one. We must always find a way of engaging one another.”
Matiang’i left Kenya on May 18, following a flurry of political activity that saw him declare his intention to contest the presidency in 2027.
His growing alliance with Gachagua’s faction has positioned him as a new force in the opposition, challenging both President William Ruto’s administration and the traditional Raila Odinga-led camps.
