Justin Muturi Speaks On Running For Governor In Chilling Ruto Exposé
Muturi claimed that bloggers allegedly working for the Head of State have been pushing a narrative that he desires to be the Embu Governor.
Marvin Chege 
Former Cabinet Secretary for Public Service Justin Muturi has denounced claims that he is eyeing the Embu Gubernatorial seat following his ouster from President William Ruto's Cabinet.
In an interview with NTV's Fixing the Nation on Friday, April 4, Muturi claimed that bloggers allegedly working for the Head of State have been pushing a narrative that he desires to be the Embu Governor.
“I have said since 2017 that I am not interested in the position of Governor of Embu County, this should put the matter to rest, some of the bloggers of the President have been trying to push a narrative that I am trying to create room to run for the office of Governor of Embu,” he responded to the claims.
At the same time, Muturi declared that he will not be vying for the Mbeere North Parliamentary seat, stating that after serving as the National Assembly Speaker for a decade, returning to the role of MP would not be the right decision.
CS Justin Muturi speaking to the media at Kilimani Police Station on January 14, 2025. /JUSTIN MUTURI
“Having been speaker, I think in fairness, it would be wrong for me to go back as a member of Parliament to the same house that I presided over for ten years, leave me out of it,” said Muturi.
His comments follow the nomination of Mbeere North MP Geoffrey Ruku as the Public Service Cabinet Secretary. Ruku is anticipated to step down as an MP before undergoing the National Assembly's vetting process for the role, something Muturi stated he has no problem with.
Muturi On Ruto's Corrupt Deals
Meanwhile, Muturi continued his damning exposés of working in President Ruto's administration, calling him out for lying to the public about claiming to fight corruption while he allegedly secretly conducts corrupt deals worth billions.
Muturi, who spent the past two years working alongside Ruto in his Cabinet, claimed that the president presents a different persona in public compared to how he behaves in private.
"He is quite a dangerous character. I think Ruto is unfit for the position of president. I've no bitterness, this is my assessment. When I watched him talk to members of my Cabinet, saying I don't want to see corruption, I wondered who was this talking to?" Muturi posed, adding, "Yes, he (Ruto) is absolutely, very, irredeemably corrupt."
To support his claim, Muturi alleged that Ruto pressured him to quickly approve a Ksh129 billion tree-planting deal with Russian oligarchs, an agreement he argued would have violated legal procedures, as such funds are required to be processed through the National Treasury rather than being directly allocated to a Ministry.
"I landed in Dubai and received a phone call from Ruto, who told me that the Russians were waiting at the airport and I needed to sign the documents. I declined, saying I needed to review the documents in the office," he revealed.
"The deal purported to give a grant of Ksh129 billion to grow allegedly 3 billion trees. Whenever Ruto comes up with a project, it's for moneymaking. So they bring me a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) and I tell them that the Ksh129 billion can only be obtained by a grant, but it can't come directly to the ministry. It only goes through the Treasury."
Ruto Striking Fear In Cabinet
Muturi also accused President Ruto of exerting excessive control over his Cabinet, silencing Cabinet Secretaries from speaking out against government shortcomings, comparing the leadership style of his former boss to the authoritarian rule of the late President Daniel Arap Moi.
Muturi claimed that during Cabinet meetings, the president often imposed his will by instilling fear, ensuring that his directives were followed without question.
Having briefly served as Attorney General before being moved to the Public Service docket, Muturi alleged that when Ruto has a personal stake in a project, it is strictly “his way or the highway.” He further claimed that even when concerns are raised in Cabinet, the president communicates his stance through non-verbal cues, which Muturi perceives as a tactic of intimidation.
"With the experience I've gained from working with President Ruto, which was my desire, after serving as Speaker for 10 years, MP for two terms, I wanted to serve in the national executive. I think Ruto is a person with two personalities. The one who presents himself to the public is a completely different character from the one who sits behind in the office and crafts stuff, and that person is quite a dangerous character,” Muturi said
He went on, “Ruto is a true example of Daniel Moi, no wonder he campaigned against the current Constitution because I think he enjoys a situation where we can go to an Imperial presidency. He has disdain for institutions, and that is why he wants to push everything even in Cabinet…if you want to know somewhere he has an interest, a CS will make a presentation and then Ruto will take over, and begins now to explain to make sure there is no dissent. And he will begin to instil fear slowly, saying, 'You know, no coming late…”
The former CS further insinuated that most Cabinet members were afraid of the president, to the extent of preferring Committee meetings chaired by the deputy president, where they could at least express themselves.
