Public Service Cabinet Secretary Justin Muturi – who on Tuesday skipped a Cabinet meeting chaired by President William Ruto in Kakamega – has not been in his ministry offices for the last 10 days, the Nation has established.
Mr Muturi was also conspicuously missing during the swearing-in of public service commissioners at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC) on January 20.
Although PSC is an independent commission, it falls under his ministry.
Sources at State House and at the ministry on Wednesday confirmed that Mr Muturi had not stepped into his office following his press conference on January 12, where he accused the government of having a hand in the recent spate of abductions.
He also directly linked the National Intelligence Service (NIS) to the abduction of his son Leslie Muturi when he appeared before the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) the following day.
CS Muturi condemns abductions, demands answers over son's ordeal
But a defiant Muturi on Wednesday told the Nation that he has been discharging his duties even without going to the office.
On Tuesdays, the Cabinet approved In-service Training Programmes in the Public Service that came from the Public Service and Human Capital Development.
Mr Muturi said he is the one who signed and cleared the memo before it was tabled for discussion by the Cabinet at Kakamega State Lodge.
He gave an example of President Ruto, who is currently on a working tour of the Western region, asking if the president should also be accused of not being at the State House.
“I have been doing my work. Work is not about being in the office. But when I am also required physically, you will also see me there. No single work has stalled because I am not physically present in the office,” Mr Muturi told Nation.
“Ask those people saying I have not been in the office to tell you if there is any document pending. Even when I was the Attorney-General, you’d never find any document pending on my desk.”
On why he skipped the swearing-in of PSC commissioners, Mr Muturi said, “It is not in my job descriptions to attend swearing-in and clap for people.”
“Did my absence stop the swearing-in of the commissioners? PSC is an independent commission. The CS is not a member of the commission. Their swearing-in was not my function, it was a function of the judiciary and those who were being sworn in. Does someone want me to go stand there and clap?’ he posed.
Initially, Mr Muturi directed us to ask Secretary to the Cabinet Mercy Wanjau over his absence at the Cabinet meeting.
The Nation reached out to Ms Wanjau, who did not respond to our inquiries.
But a State House official, who spoke in confidence citing the sensitivity of the matter, said the Cabinet meeting was communicated in a WhatsApp group for Cabinet Secretaries, ruling out speculations that the CS may not have been informed.
Mr Muturi acknowledged the existence of the WhatsApp group. He later told Nation that “as for the reason (for not attending Cabinet meeting), I may not be at liberty to discuss.”
He said this even as we established from a source that “his presence is no longer needed at the State House”, a euphemism for persona non-grata.
Mr Muturi has in the last couple of days been under pressure to resign after his fallout with President Ruto’s administration.
National Assembly Majority Leader Kimani Ichung’wah and his Minority counterpart Junet Mohammed last week led MPs in castigating Mr Muturi while asking him to quit instead.
They made the remarks during Thursday’s special sitting of the National Assembly convened to approve the nomination of William Kabogo as the CS of Information, Communications, and the Digital Economy, Lee Kinyanjui as the CS Ministry of Investments, Trade, and Industry and Mutahi Kagwe as the CS for Agriculture and Livestock development.
Without mentioning names, Mr Ichung’wah said some CSs were dissatisfied with their current positions having been reassigned from more powerful dockets.
Mr Muturi served as the country’s attorney-general before he was moved to the current docket following the dissolution of the Cabinet at the height of the youth-led protests in June.
"As has been noted by many, these nominees and those already serving in the Cabinet must recognise their collective responsibility to serve the people of Kenya. They must also carry themselves with the decorum and integrity befitting their offices,” said Mr Ichung’wah.
“If any cabinet secretary feels dissatisfied with their reassignment by the President to a ministry they perceive as 'lower' than their previous role, the honourable thing to do is to resign.
If a Cabinet secretary feels their current ministry is too small or they believe they are too big for that ministry, they should simply resign,” he said.
Mr Mohammed also hit out at Mr Muturi, questioning why he was still in government when he did not support the administration’s policies.
“When the time comes and you feel that the executive you are part of, the president you are serving, or the government you are serving is no longer compatible with your beliefs or policies, the best thing to do is to resign,” said Mr Mohammed.
He said what Mr Muturi was doing was tantamount to an attempt to cause commotion and unnecessary fights within the government.
“Be man enough to say. It’s only in African societies where someone disagrees with policies or what’s happening in government but still wants to stay. To do what? Someone once told me, ‘If you give an African man the keys to the washroom and ask him to use it and return it, he will put it in his pocket and say, “You tell me when you need it.”’ This happens only in African societies,” said the Suna East MP.
"If you no longer believe in what the government is doing and you are a Cabinet Secretary, just resign. You are not welded there like a tumour or an iron bar. Just leave,” he added.
In a previous response over impeachment threats by some MPs, Mr Muturi said, “I will just say bring it on. At my age, I’m not the kind of person to respond to some perfunctory statements made by fairly inexperienced politicians. I think they’re not worthy of my response. So if anybody thinks that I don’t know what I was doing, they’re up for a rude shock.”
