Ruto: Justin Muturi Fired Himself

President William Ruto has now hinted that Justin Muturi may have contributed to his own ouster as Public Service Cabinet Secretary (CS), confirmed during the recent Cabinet reshuffle.

Speaking to journalists from vernacular media stations from Central Kenya ahead of his Mt Kenya region tour, Ruto disclosed the behind-the-scenes events that led to the reassignment of Muturi from Attorney General (AG) to a CS, and ultimately, his dismissal.

According to the Head of State, Muturi had initially requested not to be appointed AG, citing his long absence from legal practice. He explained that after appointing Muturi as AG, the former magistrate, MP, and Speaker admitted he might struggle to perform effectively due to his lack of recent legal experience.

"I appointed Muturi as the Attorney General. He himself told me that he was struggling in the role because he has not been in the legal practice for very long. I looked back and saw that for sure, he was not able to handle the position," Ruto narrated.

"Maybe the mistake was mine, I persuaded him to just do the job. I decided to change his position, I gave him the job of a Cabinet Secretary. Midway, he protested by skipping Cabinet meetings. Did I fire him, or did he fire himself? What am I supposed to do?"

However, Ruto stated that he strongly believes in granting people second chances, emphasizing that many who receive them often take the opportunity to redeem themselves.

"I am a person who believes in second chances. Even when it was difficult for him (Muturi) to perform as an Attorney General, but because he was my friend, we worked together, we campaigned together, I was willing to give him a second chance," the President said.

"I gave my good friend Muturi a second chance, but in the process, he dismissed himself. What do you expect me to do? I give someone a second chance, and he starts doing what he wants to do. It is not the end of the road; he has a very good pension as a former speaker, so he will not suffer much."

Muturi was immediately replaced by Geoffrey Ruku in the Public Service docket when the reshuffle was announced on Wednesday, March 26, as part of administrative changes impacting his Cabinet.

Muturi, who previously held various roles in President Ruto's administration, has been a vocal critic of the government, accusing it of allegedly orchestrating the abduction of young Kenyans. This move came hours after President Ruto called Muturi 'fairly incompetent' over his tenure as the Attorney General, despite him later appointing him to his broad-based Cabinet.

According to Ruto, Muturi's incompetence was linked to the oversight of legal processes related to the creation of a Waqf Commission, which would be responsible for managing Islamic endowments.

“I had a problem with the AG who was there before—he was fairly incompetent. But now, I have a very competent lady in the position, and I can assure you that the issues of Wakf will be sorted out within months,” Ruto stated.

Muturi would later respond by saying "Under the Waqf Act no.8 of 2022, there’s no provision for a “Muslim Endowment Fund “. It must be understood that a waqf is a religious, charitable, or benevolent endowment by a person who professes Muslim faith and is managed by the Waqf Commission."

On January 12, Muturi stirred controversy by naming senior government officials allegedly linked to the abduction of his son, Leslie, during the June Gen-Z protests. Since then, he had consistently demanded action on the issue, frequently causing tensions within the government he served.