Former Public Service Cabinet Secretary Justin Muturi, has cautioned the state, insisting that the continued intimidation will not silence him.
Muturi, in a statement on Tuesday, April 8, said that his security was withdrawn on Monday night, insinuating that the government is out to get frustrate him.
This comes after the former CS, who had become increasingly critical of President Ruto’s government, was sacked on March 26.
According to him, the officers were informed not to serve under his security detail anymore because he is “fighting the government”.
“Last night at around 7:30 p.m., my security detail was withdrawn. The two officers who had been assigned to me owing to my previous position as Speaker of the National Assembly were instructed not to report on duty today,” said Muturi.
“If this is yet another attempt to cow me into silence, they’ve dialed yet another wrong number.” he added.
Muturi, who also served as the first Attorney General in President William Ruto‘s administration, grew critical of the government over the spate of abductions targeting youth since last year’s Gen Z-led anti-government demonstrations.
His own son Leslie Muturi was abducted and later released.
The then-CS went on to boycott Cabinet meetings, maintaining that he would do so until the issue was addressed as a major agenda, which he said never happened.
This was until President Ruto nominated Mbeere North Member of Parliament Geoffrey Ruku to fill the Public Service CS docket.
In an interview with media stations last week, the Head of State said that Muturi’s absence from Cabinet meetings demonstrated defiance, leaving him with no option but to relieve him of his duties.
The new development on the reported withdrawal of Muturi’s security comes after the former AG called out President Ruto accusing him of claiming to fight corruption while he allegedly secretly conducts corrupt deals worth billions.
Speaking during an interview on Friday, April 4, he alleged that the president portrays different characters from the one in public and the one behind closed doors.
While accusing Ruto of being corrupt, Muturi claimed that the Head of State attempted to arm-twist him to hurriedly sign a $1 billion (approximately Ksh129 billion) deal with unidentified Russian Oligarchs on planting trees.
The former CS explained that the deal would have contravened the law, highlighting that such funds must go through the National Treasury and should not be channeled directly to a Ministry.
“I was invited to attend the COP 28 in Dubai 2023. During that same time, some Russian oligarchs had offered to invest $1 billion here in Kenya. 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 $1 billion to allegedly grow a3 billion trees. Whenever Ruto comes up with a project, it’s for moneymaking. So, they bring me an MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) and I tell them that the $1 billion can only be by a grant but can’t come directly to the ministry. It only goes through the Treasury.” he noted.
