The Ames Center’s 1,000 seat main theater in Burnsville which on a regular basis hosts theatrical plays and concerts – such as the “Takin’ It To The Limit” EAGLES tribute” next month – was filled to capacity on Sunday, but it wasn’t a play or concert that Kenyan Americans drove hours to see.
A Kenyan presidential candidate, Dr. Fred Okeng’o Matiang’i, was in Minnesota for a two-day visit and Sunday evening was the climax of it all with a free event to address the large Kenya community in the state. The night before, over 200 turned out for a $250 per person dinner at the Brooklyn Park Marriot and a few dozen showed up Sunday for a ‘By Invitation Only’ $1,000 per person breakfast at the sprawling home of a Kenyan American in Maple Grove.
They came wearing his face on their chests, waved Kenyan flags, chanted his name and danced to patriotic songs at the urging of Mr. James Gichana of Egesa FM, who revved up the crowd as they awaited the arrival of their special guest. Gichana, a popular radio host in the vernacular radio station, has been a constant presence in the latest iteration of the Matiang’i diaspora roadshow.
Kenyan presidential elections are not until 2027, but the citizens of east Africa’s economic powerhouse got buyer’s remorse less than two years after electing President William Ruto in a disputed election. Ruto won by just 233,000 votes out of over 14.3 million that were cast, foreshadowing his unpopularity that came in quick fashion. A popular youth revolt against high taxation and corruption dubbed the “Gen Z Protests,” almost toppled his fragile government last year with an angry citizenry storming parliament forcing members, except for one, to flee through an underground tunnel.
Ruto being “the most hated man” in the country has put the country in the mood for change as the cost of living has increased by most metrics since he took office, and he has also become more autocratic. This has led to an earlier than usual campaign and the emergence of candidates hoping to limit him to one term. It is not a horse race yet, but three candidates are considered frontrunners – Dr. Matiang’i; immediate former deputy president Mr. Rigathi Gachagua and the country’s former vice president Mr. Kalonzo Musyoka.
Remittances to Kenya by its diaspora hit a record 4 billion dollars in 2023, with most of it coming from the United States. Presidential campaigns in Kenya, especially those not enjoying incumbency, have a diaspora outreach unit as part of their campaign toolkit. They are a source of both campaign funds – like the two fundraising events held by Matiang’i in Minnesota – but even more importantly, they command significant influence with kin and friends back in Kenya.
Over 3 million Kenyans live in the diaspora, according to the International Organization for Migration, a UN agency. The United States accounts for the largest single bloc of them at close to 157,000 (5%) – which many believe to be an undercount – and Minnesota is one of the largest states with Kenyans at close to 20,000.
Out of the three candidates, Matiang’i is the first to bring his campaign to Minnesota. Him and Gachagua have been in the U.S. for the last few weeks, visiting various states with large numbers of Kenyans. Dr. Kefa Otiso, one of the speakers at Sunday’s event said Minnesota is one such state. Otiso is a professor at Bowling Green State University where he does research on urban and economic geography with, an expertise in remote sensing and geoinformatics (GIS) applications.
Otiso urged a future Matiang’i government to give Kenyans in the U.S. what they need, which is “more consulates and more voting centers as the majority of Kenyans live here in the middle, the Midwest, at least in these eight cities.” He named cities that are deserving of a consulate in the order of their population strength (of Kenyans) with the Minneapolis/St. Paul metro at the top followed by Dallas, Seattle, Atlanta, Chicago, Boston, Kansas City and Columbus, OH. Kenya has an embassy in Washington DC and a consulate in Los Angeles and New York.
Chanting “you are the 6th”, referring to Matiang’i as the sixth president, the crowd welcomed him with cheers and applause as he took to the podium to give his much-anticipated address.
Matiang’i, a former interior minister, presented himself as a man of action and a great supporter of the diaspora and their aspirations, praising them as Kenya’s greatest ambassadors.
“We cannot only have your money without your voice, we must now have your voice,” he said.
He said he also supports the establishment of up to 20 polling centers for Kenyans in the U.S. to vote in the upcoming 2027 elections where he is expected to be on the ballot, revealing that he is already working with diaspora leaders that are lobbying to make it a reality.
“Let me ask you a question, sometimes we also have to be serious. I think that’s what frustrates me about what is happening in our country. How do you expect someone to fly from Houston to go and vote in Washington?” he said. “Honestly, does it make sense? Let’s be serious.”
Kenyans in the U.S. can only vote at the embassy in Washington, or the New York and Los Angeles consulates. The diaspora has pushed the electoral body in charge of elections to scrap the requirement that only consular locations can serve as polling places, and instead bring voting locations to areas with large numbers of Kenyans. In the 2022 presidential election for instance, a paltry 744 were registered as voters at the Washington embassy and two consulates combined.
Matiang’i criticized recent talk from key members of the Ruto regime about ending universal free primary education that was enacted by the country’s third president, Mwai Kibaki, a move that won the country global acclaim. He termed such talk as regressive.
“One million kids went to school. One million. In fact, you have seen the clip doing rounds where President Clinton says that if there is one person he wished to meet that time, it was President Kibaki,” he told the crowd. “What we have in our country is government by excuses.”
Matiang’i offered he will be a great steward of the Kenyan economy saying that the economic mismanagement and heavy taxation is making many lose their minds.
Prior to Dr. Matiang’i speaking, four GenZ youth were given a chance to address the audience, with one of them pointing out the mental health challenges Kenyan youth are facing.
Matiang’i, who at one time served as the minister for education, opined some of the mental health issues can be addressed by fixing broader societal and governance issues
“Half of the reasons why we have mental health problems in our country is because of the ecosystem and environment in which we live. If you graduated six years ago, you have no job, your brother has no job, your sister has no job, your mom has no job, your father is earning a miserable salary, paying a house you will never go into. How would you remain sane? How would you remain sane?” he said. “That’s why we have these challenges. The young people are going through these issues because of the challenges we have in the country.”
Mr. Charles Chesumbai, a realtor from Shakopee, said he came with an open mind but at the end of the meeting told Mshale he is very excited for a potential Matiang’i presidency, because the former minister doesn’t come across as a “typical politician.”
“He is a very honest person, he is more of a civil servant that is into service delivery which is what we want in the country,” he said. “He is not like these politicians that come here and all they talk about is politics and not how we can fix things.”
Others however did not need any convincing from Dr. Matiang’i, as they already view him as the country’s next president. They were just there to meet and cheer him on.
“I came to see the sixth, I am so impressed by him as I see there is light at the end of the tunnel, and feel he will be the one to help us fight corruption and the problems our country is facing right now” said Ms. Naomi Maangi, a psychiatric nurse practitioner who lives in Ramsey.
Two ladies that were in conversation with her before our interview listened in and nodded in agreement.
Author
About Tom Gitaa Gitaa, Editor-in-Chief
Born and raised in Kenya's coastal city of Mombasa, Tom is the Founder, Editor-in-Chief and Publisher of Mshale which has been reporting on the news and culture of African immigrants in the United States since 1995. He has a BA in Business from Metro State University and a Public Leadership Credential from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. He was the original host of Talking Drum, the signature current affairs show on the African Broadcasting Network (ABN-America), which was available nationwide in the United States via the Dish Network satellite service. On the show, he interviewed Nobel laureates such as 2004 Nobel Peace prize winner, Professor Wangari Maathai, the first woman from Africa to win the peace prize and heads of states. Tom has served and chaired various boards including Global Minnesota (formerly Minnesota International Center), the sixth largest World Affairs Council in the United States. He has previously served as the first Black President of the Board of Directors at Books for Africa. He also serves on the boards of New Vision Foundation and the Minnesota Multicultural Media Consortium. He has previously served two terms on the board of the United Nations Association. An avid runner, he retired from running full marathons after turning 50 and now only focuses on training for half marathons.
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