When former Cabinet Secretary Justin Muturi put out an Easter message poster on Friday, April 18, on his X account, controversy was the last thing he expected.
However, Kenyan netizens, in their typically observant nature, took issue with the graphic, which featured an image of Muturi in the clouds with a cross adjacent to him. In the poster, Muturi appears to be emerging from the clouds, with his message, albeit in small font, placed below his picture.
Most of the people reacting to the post opined that the graphic conveyed the wrong message rather than the intended Easter message.
The surprised netizens expressed their disapproval of the post, which they claimed resembled an obituary, urging Muturi to re-evaluate the team responsible for creating the poster.
In a seemingly satirical response to his post, most netizens also issued messages of condolence, with others expressing their dissatisfaction with it.
“Had to read again and again, thought this was some obituary, bad news or a fake account,” one X user commented.
“The communications manager and the graphics designer need to be out of the payroll like yesterday,” another opined.
Another user, perhaps affording Muturi some grace, provided insights on what could be done better. The user suggested using warmer, brighter colours such as light yellow or gold, noting that clouds could convey a message of mourning. Instead, the user recommended using flowers and catchy headlines such as “Happy Easter” in warm, celebratory colours.
At the same time, others took issue with Muturi’s usage of the Coat of Arms despite him not being a government official. Muturi was fired by President William Ruto from his position as Public Service CS.
He was replaced by former Mbeere North Member of Parliament Geoffrey Ruku, who was sworn into office on Thursday, April 17.
Since his dismissal, Muturi has been on a rampage, highlighting the government’s inefficiencies and criticising Ruto as the President.
At one point, Muturi alleged that Ruto attempted to coerce him into signing a suspicious Ksh129 billion deal with Russian investors while he was at the airport.
The deal, allegedly worth $1 billion (Ksh129 billion), was intended to fund the planting of three billion trees as part of the government's 15-billion-tree initiative.
Muturi stated that Ruto pressured him to approve the agreement while he was still at the airport, without giving him the chance to review the document.
The former CS crowned the decision by describing President Ruto's presidency as the most unfortunate thing that could have happened to Kenya.
