Kenneth Matiba was born on 1st June 1932 and he lived to be an admirable politician and an activist for democracy in post-independence Kenya.
Matiba rose through various ranks to become one of the most powerful and respected politicians in the country. The positions he held include:
In 1963 he became the first indigenous African Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Education where he served for only one month (May).
1964-1968: He was appointed by the then President Mzee Jomo Kenyatta to serve as Permanent Secretary for Commerce.
1974-1978: He was elected to serve as the Chairman of the Kenya Football Federation, the body governing football activities in the country.
1979: He was elected for the first time to the National Assembly as the member for Mbiri Constituency. A post he held until the 1990.
1983-1988: He served as the Minister for Culture and Social Services having been appointed by the then President Daniel Arap Moi. He concurrently ran the Ministry of Culture and Health and before he resigned from KANU in 1988 he had also served as the Minister of Transport and Communications.
1992: He contested for the Presidency but lost to President Daniel Moi but he won his Kiharu parliamentary seat hence assuming the position of leader of opposition in the parliament having emerged second in the elections.
2007: he contested for the Presidency only to emerge in position 7 with a paltry 8046 votes, that is when he announced his retirement from active politics.