President William Ruto nominated Mbeere Member of Parliament Geoffrey Kiringa Ruku as Cabinet Secretary for Public Service to replace Justin Muturi.
This meant he had sacked Muturi. It was anticipated after days of tension. Muturi was immediately asked to surrender government equipment.
The announcement was made in a statement issued by Chief of Staff Felix Koskei on Wednesday, communicating further changes by the President to his Cabinet.
For months now, Muturi has emerged as a thorn in Ruto’s flesh with his bone of contention with his boss revolving around fiery remarks he made against the State over abductions and killings of Gen Z protesters in June and December 2024, where his son was also a victim.
He had even stated that he requested to be excused from Cabinet meetings until the issues of police abductions and extrajudicial killings were on the agenda.
Recently, Muturi bravely said the move to call out his boss falls within his sworn mandate as a public servant, and he should instead be applauded for the same.
Ruto, who had remained tight-lipped over the matter for weeks, broke his silence on Tuesday and branded his Public Service CS as “fairly incompetent”.
Speaking during an Iftar dinner at State House, Nairobi, Ruto said Muturi’s inept handling in establishing the Muslim Endowment Fund (Waqf) as Attorney General denied the commission an opportunity to manage Islamic endowments.
“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,” Ruto stated.
Muturi took to social media to reply to the President, stating that “It must be understood that a waqf is a religious, charitable or benevolent endowment by a person who professes Muslim faith and is managed by the Waqf Commission.”
Ruto is set to tour Mt Kenya region from April 1 to 7.
Ruto also nominated Hanna Wendot Cheptumo for a new docket in the Ministry of Gender.
Cheptumo is the widow of the late Baringo Senator William Cheptumo who died last month while undergoing treatment at Nairobi Hospital.
Further, Ruto reassigned Aden Duale from the Ministry of Environment to tackle the Ministry of Health.
Duale’s plate will be full as he seeks to tackle the challenges affecting the Social Health Authority (SHA) that has caused a health crisis across the country.
In Duale’s place, Dr. Deborah Barasa will take the Ministry of Environment’s role.
“His Excellency the President has congratulated the nominees on their nominations and conveyed his best wishes as they undergo the requisite parliamentary approval process in fulfillment of the legal requirements set under our Constitution,” the statement read in part.
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