Former Public Service CS Justin Muturi has taken another swipe at President William Ruto, as he accused the head of state of lying to the country.
While addressing the media on Wednesday, just two days after President Ruto's explosive interview, Muturi was adamant that he was fired from Cabinet for asking Ruto to address forced disappearances, contradicting Ruto's claims that he was incompetent.
"There is no doubt that I was sacked because of my firm stand on forced disappearances," the sacked former CS said.
"If their goal was to silence me, then they’ve dialed the wrong number. The inference that one draws from my sacking is that raising the issue of forced disappearances and extrajudicial killings must be terribly annoying to the president,” he asserted.
According to Muturi, he has consistently brought forward the issue of forced disappearances to the president through several letters, reiterating that he would not attend Cabinet meetings until his concerns were addressed.
"To date, the president has never acknowledged my letters indicating the matter of forced disappearances and extrajudicial killings is not worth his attention," he asserted.
The former CS claimed that despite several reminders, the president made no effort to resolve the issue of forced disappearances, completely contradicting Ruto's sentiments during an interview at the Sagana State Lodge on Monday.
According to Muturi, he attempted to make the issue of forced disappearance an agenda item for a Cabinet meeting in November last year, but he was snubbed.
He added, "We regularly receive cabinet dispatches after meetings, but the matter has never been discussed. That's why I was surprised to hear the president on live TV on March 31 saying the issue has been discussed in Cabinet and has been resolved."
On Monday, Ruto was put to task to explain his government's efforts to end the tide of forced disappearances during a media interview ahead of his Mt Kenya tour. The president was insistent that forced disappearances would not be part of his regime going forward.
"My stance on the matter is clear. Many people have lost their lives from forced disappearances before my tenure, and when I took over, I disbanded the rogue officers involved in such killings," Ruto said.
The president further clarified that he gave security agencies operational independence along with a hefty budget to ensure smooth operations without interference from the presidential office.
During the same presser, Muturi also denied claims that he was dismissed because he was incompetent, saying Ruto did away with him because of his vocal stance against forced disappearances.
