Moderately identifiable
Kenneth Matiba
Minister under Moi until 1988. FORD-Asili leader. 1992 presidential runner-up. Died 2018.
Held power before. Actions first; uncontradicted words and reports count less.
What the record shows
- DResigned from Moi's cabinet as Minister of Transport and Communications in December 1988.
- UHis resignation followed a protest against rigging in KANU's 1988 party elections.
- DDetained at Kamiti Maximum Security Prison with Charles Rubia in 1990.
What they said, and what they did
- Said they wouldMultiparty democracy.What they didDPaid with detention. Multiparty politics returned in December 1991, and he came second in 1992.
Where the evidence points, by dimension
Institutions and power-sharing: Checks and devolution (high confidence)
Publicly called for multiparty democracy with Charles Rubia in May 1990, when it was illegal to organise an opposition.
Political style: Anti-establishment (medium confidence)
A former senior civil servant, minister and businessman who broke with the regime.
Civil liberties: Liberty-first (medium confidence)
Planned the Saba Saba rally of July 1990 and was detained without trial until 1991, suffering a stroke in detention.
What they appear to have stood for
A liberal democrat who took on the one-party state at great personal cost. FORD-Asili's economic platform is not counted.
Contradictions in the record
- IServed the one-party state for years before opposing it (interpretation).
Sources (1)
How to read this page
Actions come first: laws, votes, decisions, court cases. Words count less, and only where the record is thin and not contradicted. A leader with real power now is judged on actions only. Tags: D documented, A attributed to a named source, I our interpretation, U not yet re-checked, S stated position, H hearsay. An allegation is not a finding. This is a research draft, not voting advice. Read the full method.