After an escalation rift between Justin Muturi and his boss, President William Ruto has finally axed the Embu politician and nominated Geoffrey Ruku as Public Service CS in the latest reshuffles.
Also, the President has nominated Hannah Cheptumo for Gender Ministry, the widow of the late Baringo Senator William Cheptumo, to take the vacant position left by Aisha Jumwa, who was fired by Ruto during the Gen-Z protest in July 2024.
Remarks by President William Ruto regarding his estranged relationship with his Embu political ally, Justin Muturi, who played a crucial role in persuading voters in the region during the 2022 general elections.
On Wednesday, Ruto, in an announcement, fired Justin Muturi and nominated Mbeere Member of Parliament Geoffrey Ruku to replace him as the new Public Service Cabinet Secretary.
In the new cabinet shake-up, it is a sigh of relief after Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale has again been picked from the forest after being moved to the leaking Health ministry as counterpart, Deborah Mulongo Barasa has been assigned the Environment docket.
The move by President Ruto comes barely a day after the Head of State referred to Muturi as ‘fairly incompetent’ when he served as the Attorney General.
The comment was in relation to how he handled legal matters concerning the establishment of Waqf, an endowment made by a Muslim to a religious, educational, or charitable cause.
“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 Waqf will be sorted out within months,” the President said on Tuesday.
Muturi has been a vocal critic of the government, even skipping Cabinet meetings.
His frustrations were evident in a recent interview, where he revealed that he had formally requested President Ruto to excuse him from attending Cabinet meetings until the issue of abductions and extrajudicial killings is prioritized for discussion.
His frustrations were evident in a recent interview, where he revealed that he had formally requested President Ruto to excuse him from attending Cabinet meetings until the issue of abductions and extrajudicial killings is prioritized for discussion.
Ruto’s remarks were in response to concerns raised by Muslim leaders who had attended the state Iftar dinner over delays in operationalising the endowment fund despite an existing Act (Waqf Act, 2022).
Muturi, in a swift rejoinder to the remarks, however, said that while the act exists, it does not provide for the creation of a Muslim Endowment Fund.
He insisted that it is a personal initiative by any individual who professes Islam.
“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 the Muslim faith and is managed by the Waqf Commission,” the former AG said.
Earlier on Wednesday, President Ruto met leaders from the Western region in his attempts to accelerate the implementation of our national development agenda nationwide.
The meeting was meant to assess progress on key priority projects, which include strengthening agricultural value chains, particularly increasing fertiliser uptake to boost food production and reviving the sugar and coffee sectors in the region.
Among those present include Prime Cabinet Secretary Hon Musalia W Mudavadi, National Assembly Speaker Moses Masika Wetang’ula, Cabinet Secretaries Wycliffe Oparanya (Cooperatives and MSMEs) and Deborah Mulongo (Health), as well as Governors FCPA Fernandes Barasa OGW (Kakamega), Kenneth Makelo Lusaka (Bungoma), Dr. Paul Otuoma (Busia), and members of Parliament.
