Tongues set wagging as CS slights Cabinet

Public Service Cabinet Secretary Justin Muturi yesterday skipped President William Ruto’s first Cabinet meeting this year held at the Kakamega State Lodge, signalling possible irreparable fallout between the two.

It was the first Cabinet meeting chaired by the Head of State since Muturi’s unexpected outbursts following the abduction of his son Lesley last year at the height of Gen-Z protests.

Sources at State House intimated to People Daily Muturi may have decided to avoid the meeting after respective State officials failed to send him a brief on the Cabinet agenda for his docket.

Though Muturi is reported to have learnt of the Cabinet meeting through a general WhatsApp group for Cabinet Secretaries, it has now emerged that neither the Secretary to the Cabinet Mercy Wanjau nor the Chief of Staff and Secretary to the Cabinet Felix Koskei communicated to him directly as is the norm.

As his colleagues gathered at Kakamega State Lodge for the early morning meeting, Muturi is said to have remained at his Nairobi residence where he is reported to have held a closed-door meeting with top aides.

Failure by Muturi to attend the Cabinet meeting comes on the backdrop of President Ruto’s closed-door meeting at State House with former Meru Governor Kiraitu Murungi that also sent tongues wagging over the appointment of the latter to replace the former Attorney General.

President Ruto is said to be dragging his feet on whether to sack Muturi from his government and retain the Director Genera; of the National Intelligence Service (NIS) Noordin Haji.

Some quarters within the government are of the opinion that instead of sacking him, Muturi should be stripped off almost all roles in a bid to leave him frustrated and possible force him to resign on his own volition.

Last week, Deputy President Kithure Kindiki also convened a meeting with Embu leaders in which Muturi was conspicuously missing.

Governor Cecily Mbarire who is also the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) Chair attended the meeting held at Kindiki’s official residence in Karen.

During the meeting, the leaders discussed the County’s development priorities for the revitalization of critical value chains and citizen empowerment programs.

The meeting, which is part of the Deputy President’s broader engagement with the vote-rich region, brought together MPs, MCAs, and grassroots opinion shapers from Embu County.

Early this month, Muturi faced hostility from Embu residents during the burial of Eric Mutugi, son of former Embu Senator Lenny Kivuti, when he attempted to present President Ruto’s condolence message.

Public discontent

The incident highlighted widespread public discontent with government leadership in the region, particularly following last year’s impeachment of former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua.

Yesterday’s failure by Muturi to attend the Cabinet meeting could be sending clear signals of the CS’s imminent exit from the Cabinet after a fallout between him and the Kenya Kwanza administration.

The Public Service CS has been under pressure especially from Ruto’s allies to resign after his unprecedented step to take on the government over the alleged abduction of his son.

However, it has emerged that Muturi’s coalition agreement with Kenya Kwanza government through the Democratic Party (DP) now poses a challenge to the plot to kick him out of office through a parliamentary process.

Last week Muturi hit the headlines after spilling the beans and linking National Intelligence Service (NIS) boss Noordin Haji to a string of abductions, including that of his son, Leslie Muturi, at the height of the Gen Z-led protests.

Muturi’s outburst over abduction of his son, irked a section of MPs allied to President Ruto, calling on the former National Assembly Speaker to resign.

While contributing to the motion on approval of the Cabinet Secretaries nominees on Thursday last week, National Assembly Minority leader Junet Mohammed in a veiled attack on Public Service CS, said that persons appointed should be able to resign when they fall out with the executive.

He said that if a person no longer believes in what the government is doing and they are a Cabinet Secretary, they should just resign.

“You are not welded there like a tumor or an iron bar. Just leave. You cannot be a Cabinet Secretary issuing views contrary to your government’s policies. It’s immoral,” said Junet.

Serving Kenyans

His Majority counterpart Kimani Ichung’wa (Kikuyu) re-emphasize that cabinet secretaries come into office to serve all Kenyans and the government of the day—not just the regions they come from.

“If any cabinet secretary feels dissatisfied with their reassignment by the President to a ministry they perceive as ‘lower’ than their previous role, the honorable thing to do, Honorable Speaker, is to resign,” said Ichung’wah.

Already, Muturi has dared leaders calling for his impeachment to make good their threats.

This is after the CS held a press conference urging the government to allow Kenyans to express their views freely without threats.
CS Muturi disclosed that he had been quiet for some time, and many people had been asking him where the country was heading, so it was time to open up about the recent happenings.

He accused the ruling administration of failing to stop abductions and extrajudicial killings as promised on the campaign trail ahead of the 2022 polls.

“One of the things we had accused the past regimes of was the existence of disappearances and extrajudicial killings, and we vowed that we would never, under our watch, condone or allow such,” explained CS Muturi.

The CS regretted that today, there have been several abductions and, in some cases, unexplained deaths since the Gen Z revolts in June 2024.

“It is unfortunate, as most of the people being abducted are our youth, leaving the parents and other family members in a state of confusion and loss,” CS Muturi lashed at President Ruto’s administration.

Without mincing his words, CS Muturi opened up about how he had suffered as his son was abducted and disappeared.

“I was not sure whether he was alive or dead, making us anxious and leaving me, my wife, and my family in turmoil. It must be remembered that I was the attorney general of the Republic of Kenya at the time. Yet, I could not trace my son despite making several requests and demands to all levels of the security apparatus,” lamented CS Muturi.

CS Muturi would later be thrust into the national limelight by National Intelligence Service Director General Noordin Haji, claiming his son had been abducted by his officers.

Muturi, in a statement to detectives at the DCI offices at the Kilimani Police Station, said it only took President William Ruto’s intervention to have his son Leslie released.

Leslie had been arrested over the June-July 2024 GenZ protests that culminated with the breach of parliament and deaths of over 60 youthful protestors—largely brandishing a flag and a bottle of water.