Public Service Cabinet Secretary Justin Muturi. Inset is President William Ruto.
Public Service Cabinet Secretary Justin Muturi on Thursday set tongues wagging when he appeared before the National Assembly’s Labour Committee, delivering a blistering critique of government priorities that appeared to question President William Ruto’s leadership.
His called out his boss's administration for neglecting long-stalled projects to embark on new ones, a move that further fuelled speculation that his days in Cabinet may be numbered.
CS Muturi pointedly challenged the Kenya Kwanza administration’s fiscal discipline.
“I do not know whether there is something wrong with our psyche as a country. I'm saying this because I have travelled around the country and I know some stalled projects that have been there for more than 30 years,” Mr Muturi said.
He went on: “There are stalled projects that have been out there for the last 30 years and are an eyesore: Baringo, Matuko and Embu..yet we are allocating Sh70 or Sh80 million...why can’t we get enough allocations to finish the ones that have been started?”
He continued: “If you do not have enough money to do all of them, can’t you finish one?”
His criticism of the government also comes at a delicate political time: President Ruto is expected to make further changes to his Cabinet to accommodate opposition figures and solidify his coalition with ODM leader Raila Odinga.
'Man on his way out'
His public utterances have also led to growing calls from within government ranks for his resignation, with some MPs and Cabinet colleagues arguing that he has no moral authority to serve in the Executive.
For instance, Belgut MP Nelson Koech, a close ally of the President, recently declared that CS Muturi is “a man on his way out.”
“He has pinched the President’s nose and it’s only a matter of time before he is shown the door,” Mr Koech said in a recent interview.
CS Muturi’s Environment counterpart, Mr Aden Duale, has openly asked him to resign.
“If you are unhappy as a Cabinet Secretary, the best thing for you is to resign...You can not engage in unhealthy, inappropriate confrontation with the President,” he said.
“The CS is in the Executive arm of government and literally sits with the Cabinet. He has not raised the same issues in Cabinet as far as I know...He is simply daring the President to fire him.”
Another CS, William Kabogo, criticised his colleague's comments on abductions as irresponsible.
Son's abduction
In January, Muturi has alleged that the National Intelligence Service (NIS) was behind the abduction of his son last year.
In a statement made to DCI, he said they took his son Leslie Muturi in Nairobi on June 22, 2024, and only released him after a phone call from President William Ruto at his insistence.
The accusation puts CS Muturi on a collision path with the State and was likely the point of no return.
National Assembly Majority Whip Sylvanus Osoro warned, at some point, that CS Muturi could face impeachment if he does not toe the line. But the former National Assembly Speaker remains defiant, brushing off threats from government insiders.
“I will just say, bring it on. At my age, I am not the kind of person to respond to some perfunctory statements made by fairly inexperienced politicians. I think they are not worthy of my response. So if anybody thinks that I do not know what I was doing, then they are in for a rude shock” CS Muturi said.
