Hours after President William Ruto claimed that Public Service Cabinet Secretary Justin Muturi was 'fairly incompetent' during his tenure as Attorney General over his failure to establish the Waqf Commission, the CS has hit back.
Responding to the president through a statement on his X account, on Tuesday, March 26, the CS stressed that the Waqf Act does not provide for the creation of the Muslim Endowment fund.
According to Muturi, the creation of the fund is the responsibility of a person who professes the Muslim faith and is managed by the Waqf Commission.
"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 Muslim faith and is managed by the Waqf Commission," Muturi said.
However, speaking on Tuesday, March 25, during an Iftar session with the Muslim community at State House in Nairobi, Ruto said that Muturi was unable to handle legal matters relating to the establishment of Waqf during his tenure as Attorney General.
Waqf is a commission through which a Muslim dedicates property for religious, charitable, or public benefit.
The President assured that under the current Attorney General, Dorcas Oduor, the government would ensure that the commission is established.
“As we move forward, we will continue to look at the issues that have been raised here—issues of education—and find a nexus between religious and formal education to determine what needs to be done,” Ruto said.
“On Waqf, I agree with you; it has taken too long. There is no reason for the delay, and I had a problem with the AG who was there. He was fairly incompetent, but now I have a very competent lady, and I can assure you the issues of Waqf will be sorted out,” he added.
In recent months, Muturi has been at the forefront of criticising President Ruto’s administration for allegedly failing to address the prevalent abduction cases in the country.
Addressing the press on Friday, March 21, the CS said that he will remain focused on ensuring that there is accountability in the government.
Muturi further dismissed speculations of resigning from his position, stressing that his resignation would not solve the pending issues.
"Why would I resign for saying the truth? I must speak the truth; if there is a mistake, I must come out and defend Keyans," Muturi said.
