Muturi faults Ruto over inconsistencies on abductions

Former Public Service Cabinet Secretary Justin Muturi has taken aim at President William Ruto, accusing him of contradicting himself over who is responsible for the recent wave of abductions in Kenya.

“On December 28 last year, the president said in Homabay that he would end abductions. But in October, while in Kisumu, he said he didn’t know anyone who had been abducted. Then on Monday this week, he told a foreign journalist that abductees had reunited with their families,” said Muturi on Spice FM on Thursday, May 15.

The former CS criticised Ruto’s comments as insensitive, especially his claim that all abductees had been reunited with their families, a statement Muturi says dismisses the pain of families still searching for loved ones.

On Monday, during a joint press briefing with Finnish President Alexander Stubb, Ruto told reporters:

"All the people who disappeared or who were abducted...all of them have been brought back to their families and to their homes, and I have given clarity and firm instructions that nothing of that kind of nature will happen again.”

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Justin Muturi: I want to confirm to the country that at no time has there been raised, before the National Security Council, the issue of abductions, forced disappearances or extrajudicial killings.#TheSituationRoom @HonJBMuturi

Follow our live conversation on YouTube:… pic.twitter.com/eFbz1vfnxf — SpiceFM (@SpiceFMKE) May 15, 2025

According to Muturi, the president has remained complacent despite the pain and pleas of affected families, adding that the buck stops with him [Ruto], owing to his oath and constitutional authority.

He has on several occasions accused the National Intelligence Service (NIS) of abducting his son, Leslie Muturi, who went missing in June 2024 after he was linked to the Gen Z protests that rocked the country last year.

He claimed that a phone call between President Ruto and NIS Director-General Noordin Haji exposed the government’s involvement.

“NIS are actively involved in those acts. The mere fact that Noordin admitted to having my son, and promising the president to release him in an hour, which actually happened, is clear evidence that NIS is involved in things that are not within the law,” said Muturi.

As a  former Speaker of the National Assembly and one-time Attorney General, Muturi sat on the National Security Council, the country’s top security advisory body. He averred that despite rising concerns over forced disappearances, such cases were never discussed at the council level.

“At no time has there been raised before the National Security Council the issue of abductions, forced disappearances or extrajudicial killings. Never…We discussed other matters of national security but these were never raised.”

Muturi also pushed back against Ruto’s earlier claim that the Cabinet had deliberated on the issue.

“Contrary to what President Ruto said at Sagana State Lodge, in March last year, that abductions and extrajudicial killings were debated in Cabinet, that has also never happened.”

Rights Group Vocal Africa also challenged the president’s remarks, pointing to at least five unresolved cases.

Emmanuel Mukuria, Dennis Chege, and Peter Macharia vanished in Nairobi on June 25, the same day protestors stormed Parliament in opposition to the Finance Bill. Martin Mbisi and Kalani Muema reportedly disappeared on December 17.

But, Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen, yesterday defended the government, saying the Ruto’s words were not an admission of guilt.

“Many people misunderstood the President. His remarks were taken out of context…When he said the abductions had stopped and that the victims had returned home, it was in reference to the government’s policy direction, not an admission of guilt," said Murkomen.

He would later on Wednesday evening reiterate his earlier comment, adding, “The President did not lie to the public. The truth is that there are reports of missing persons. Investigations will determine whether these are cases of abduction.”