President William Ruto is facing a major political dilemma over whether to sack the defiant Public Service Cabinet Secretary Justin Muturi, hope he resigns or retain him as a lame-duck in a crucial ministry.
Firing Mr Muturi has the potential of fanning the growing political hostility against President Ruto in the larger Mt Kenya region while keeping him in the Cabinet threatens to expose Kenya Kwanza administration as a divided house.
Being a Cabinet Secretary and an insider, repeated attacks by Mr Muturi against the Ruto administration on abductions and extrajudicial killings are considered more credible, and have the effect of eroding public trust on the President’s leadership, which is already struggling with widespread discontent.
To make matters even more complicated, Mr Muturi’s grouse is personal given that when he was Attorney-General last year, his son, Leslie Muturi, was abducted and later released by suspected state agents at the height of the Gen Z protests in June 2024. The Cabinet Secretary recently blamed the National Intelligence Service for being behind the disappearance.
CS Muturi condemns abductions, demands answers over son's ordeal
But the political implications of sacking him at a time when the Mt Kenya region is restless appear to be stopping Dr Ruto from kicking him out immediately to avoid making the minister a “hero” keen on reaping political benefits from the fallout just like former deputy President Rigathi Gachagua. However, the question remains on how long the outspoken Mr Muturi will be tolerated.
A State House source, who spoke in confidence, indicated that Mr Muturi is being allowed to remain in Cabinet for the time being with the hope that he will resign sooner rather than later.
The thinking is that if fired, Mr Muturi is likely to come out as a hero, who was kicked out for siding with the public in condemning the rising spate of abductions linked to state security.
Some of the youths who went missing after allegedly being kidnapped by individuals believed to be police officers have ended up being killed in unclear circumstances, making the matter an emotive one, and which politicians critical of the administration are likely to exploit.
Since June 2024, State-funded Kenya National Commission on Human Rights has recorded 89 cases of abductions and enforced disappearances with 29 people still missing.
Further, firing Mr Muturi, who hails from Embu, is seen to have the potential of working against President Ruto’s plans of wooing Mt Kenya East, after facing hostility in the dominant Mt Kenya West following the impeachment of Mr Gachagua as Deputy President last October and eventual replacement with Prof Kithure Kindiki.
Critics say that Mr Muturi is following the same script that Dr Ruto used on President Uhuru Kenyatta, whom he consistently accused of many ills, including extra-judicial killings, even when he was holding the second highest office on the land.
Mr Muturi seems to be aware of this dilemma and has continued to take the nightmare of abductions to President Ruto’s doorstep.
He also skipped the first Cabinet meeting of the year in a clear show of defiance, and in an attempt to invite the President to fire him.
“Muturi presents Ruto with a horrible dilemma and Muturi knows this. Fire him and Ruto further alienates himself from Mt. Kenya East. Keep him in government, and he remains a real and persistent thorn in the side of the Kenya Kwanza Administration,” says US-based university lecturer and political analyst, Prof David Monda.
“As it is right now, Ruto has decided it's better to keep his friends close and his enemies (Muturi) closer. He'd be better able to restrain him in government than outside government, where Muturi will have no restraints and will probably join the burgeoning anti-Kenya Kwanza coalition led by former DP Gachagua,” Prof Monda says.
He, however, notes that the President may be forced to act since leaving him is likely to embolden Mr Muturi to escalate his attacks against the administration.
“President Ruto might feel Muturi has now gone too far and fire him for demanding the president institutes a commission of inquiry that will expose some of his closest confidants in security, intelligence and public safety sectors. Ultimately, I think Muturi's days are numbered,” he adds.
Following his first open attack on Dr Ruto’s administration on January 12, Mr Muturi on Friday, January 31 escalated the onslaught by asking the President to form a commission of inquiry to unearth the surging cases of abductions. This even as he dismissed those calling for his resignation for engaging in political sideshows.
“This is murder most foul. It is only fair that, at this point, the country shelves any other business to discuss this matter of abductions and extrajudicial killings. It is not right that parents like these can go for over 40 days searching for their loved ones while we sit somewhere claiming to be discussing the economy. Economy for who? If we are killing and abducting young people, then who are we building the economy for?” posed Mr Muturi at Nairobi Funeral Home following discovery of two bodies of the missing ‘Mlolongo three’.
He added: “The buck must stop somewhere. Mr President, I am calling upon you now to order an end to these abductions and open an inquiry to examine how these things have been happening. We cannot normalize this. These are very young lives that have been taken away. Their parents have been agonizing. Why are we allowing young people to be kidnapped and later found killed? What a country are we and we are pretending to be resolving issues in DRC.”
Democratic Action Party-Kenya (DAP-K) Secretary General Eseli Simiyu says Dr Ruto seems to be scared of the current political situation in Mt Kenya, which he reckons is likely to deteriorate further should he fire the Cabinet Secretary.
“I have seen other CSs tell Muturi to resign; what they are not saying is that Muturi is playing the same game that Ruto did to Uhuru. Ruto criticised Uhuru, but he was not impeached. If he fires Muturi, people will question the double standard,” says Mr Eseli.
“In the oath of office that CS Muturi took, he swore to defend the Constitution and objectively advise the President. The CS has simply done that; he has stood on the Constitution to provide advice to his job. CS Muturi must sit in that Cabinet as the voice of reason and tell the king that he is naked. He must not resign. If his boss wants to fire him, let him go ahead,” says Mr Wambua, a Wiper senator allied to party leader Kalonzo Musyoka.
Machakos Deputy Governor Francis Mwangangi says firing Mr Muturi would not help Ruto regain the confidence of the public. He, however, said the rising cases of abductions is a national crisis that has so far affected many families.
He said apart from being a victim after his son was abducted, CS Muturi seems to be speaking for the majority of Kenyans who don’t have a national platform to ask such hard questions.
“I would not say that Muturi is against the government, but against bad things being done by certain individuals within the government,” says Mr Mwangangi.
“It is next to impossible to keep quiet when your child is abducted by the same government you serve in. Those accusing Muturi of rocking the boat from within are just speaking to catch the attention of the President, and to be seen as defenders of Kenya Kwanza administration,” he adds.
Embakasi Central MP Benjamin Gathiru alias Mejja Donk, an ally of Mr Gachagua, says that those who were calling for Mr Muturi’s impeachment have since gone quiet because a majority of Mt Kenya MPs are likely not to support such a motion.
Mr Gathiru says the impeachment of Mr Gachagua altered the region’s political landscape, and made those who were vocal against Mr Gachagua unpopular.
“They have the power to fire him. But for impeachment, Mt Kenya MPs may not participate because things he is saying are shared by many people,” says the MP.
He adds: “His firing will escalate the hostility in Mt Kenya, especially Mt Kenya East. If he fails to fire him and Mr Muturi continues to point out the ills, then the President will have no option but to address the issues the CS is raising.”
Mr Muturi broke ranks with president Ruto’s administration and launched a scathing attack on the government over abductions.
The immediate former Attorney General whose son Leslie Muturi was a victim of abductions at the height of Gen Z protests in June last year accused the government of engaging in the vices it promised to end.
