I've no regrets if I'm sacked, says CS Muturi

Public Service Cabinet Secretary Justin Muturi is seemingly daring President William Ruto to sack him.

Muturi has written to his boss asking to be excused from Cabinet meetings, and says he is not afraid to be kicked out due to his stand on what is believed to be State-sponsored abductions of government critics.

And despite his alleged falling out with the President, the former Attorney General insists he would not resign from Government, explaining that it would amount to an act of cowardice.

“When I took oath of office, I was acutely aware of provisions of Article132 on the powers of the hiring authority to hire and fire. If I am fired for speaking against abductions and extrajudicial killings, which is unconstitutional and we as Government campaigned against and vowed will never happen under our watch, so be it,” he said.

Appearing for an interview on Citizen TV, the CS insisted that his absence from Cabinet discussions does not amount to gross insubordination because he officially sought to be excused. Mutura has  so far has missed three sessions on  January 21, February 11 and another one held this week.

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“Attending Cabinet meetings is mandatory unless excused by the President. I have formally written and requested to be excused from attending these meetings until or unless the issue of abductions and extrajudicial killings is officially tabled before Cabinet through a Cabinet memorandum,” he said.

The CS dismiss a letter being circulated online indicating that he had resigned.

“I remain fully committed to serving the people of Kenya in my capacity as Cabinet Secretary, working to strengthen our public service and enhance human capital development. Let us all be vigilant against misinformation intended to mislead the public.”

His remarks came as his Democratic Party (DP) issued a 30-day notice of intention to leave the Kenya Kwanza Coalition.

“Kindly take notice that our stay in Kenya Kwanza Coalition is no longer tenable due to prevailing political developments. The DP, vide this letter, hereby gives 30-day notice to exit the coalition as stipulated in the termination Clause (8) in the coalition notice,” said the letter.

At the same time, Muturi claimed that some of the critical advisories he issued  when he served as Attorney General were ignored.

Key among the advisories revolves around composition of the Cabinet, which  Muturi argued that Article 152 was not followed.

“I said, if you read Article 152 of the Constitution, the Cabinet comprises the President, Deputy President, Attorney-General and not fewer than 14 and not more than 22 Cabinet Secretaries. Only other person apart from those 25 is the Secretary to the Cabinet."

Muturi said that even the Head of Public Service is not a member of the Cabinet, and that even people from the Cabinet Advisory Council were being invited to meetings.

Others who sat in the Cabinet against the law, said Muturi, include State House Spokesperson, Hussein Mohamed, Communications Authority of Kenya Director General, David Mugonyi, former UDA Secretary General, Cleophas Malala and Chairman of the Advisory Council, David Ndii.

H also cited the Social Health Authority and related Bills.

“I pointed out we had not received any drafting instructions about those Bills and gave an advisory that the Four Bills appeared to infringe on constitutional provisions relating to Level 2, 3 and 4 hospitals … there were quite a number of issues we saw with Bills and wondered who drafted them, but gave advisories and the next thing the Bills were in Parliament,” said Muturi.

He said he was happy to see the President, who said in December that those vices would end and expected him to give direction or instructions to the relevant Cabinet Secretary to prepare a cabinet memorandum detailing those issues because they are not simple.

He said failure to discuss the matter runs the risk of normalizing such issues.

“Just imagine what happened after the presidential meeting in Mathare on Tuesday, the police were nowhere, innocent motorists were being robbed, their vehicles being damaged, innocent pedestrians also robbed, it is because of this silence by all of us,” he stated.

Muturi also took a swipe on Leader of Majority in the National Assembly, Kimani Ichung’wah for reportedly claiming that the CS was not happy with his docket.

“I’m not too sure on whose behalf he speaks, I doubt he even speaks for the people of Kikuyu constituency but if Ichung’wah believes I was receiving bribes, the best thing for him to do is to go and report to the relevant authorities for action to be taken against me,” he said.

When he served as Attorney General, Muturi said he was advisor to Government, where he issued many advisories but he has not seen Ichung’wah produce any evidence that they were skewed.