Former Public Service Cabinet Secretary Justin Muturi has regained his position as the leader of the Democratic Party of Kenya.
In a statement on his X account on Tuesday, June 11, Muturi said the party's National Executive Committee (NEC) had unanimously agreed to reinstate him with immediate effect.
Muturi said the move will be pivotal in rebuilding and revitalising the party that was founded in 1991 by former late President Mwai Kibaki and former Assistant Minister for Agriculture John Keen. The late Keen also served as MP for Kajiado North from 1969 to 1979.
However, Muturi has noted that his reinstatement is waiting for approval by the National Delegates Convention (NDC) later this year.
"This decision is not just a personal honour, it is a call to action as we work together to rebuild, re-energise, and reposition our party for the future," Muturi said.
"A new chapter begins for the Democratic Party. I sincerely thank the members of the National Executive Committee (NEC) for their confidence in me and their unanimous resolution to reinstate me as the Party Leader with immediate effect, subject to ratification by the National Delegates Convention (NDC) later this year," he added.
The DP party had fronted Muturi in the last general election as its presidential candidate before it entered into an alliance with Kenya Kwanza and backed President Ruto.
Two months after the president was elected, Muturi officially resigned as DP's party leader to take up the role of Attorney General.
In a letter dated March 12, just days before Muturi was dismissed as the Public Service Cabinet Secretary, during the March 26 Cabinet Reshuffle, DP issued an exit notice from the Kenya Kwanza Alliance, making it the first party to exit the coalition.
After his dismissal as a CS, Muturi, who is a vocal critic of President William Ruto's administration, especially blaming it for abductions, went ahead to tailor close ties with the former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, Wiper Leader Kalonzo Musyoka, and People's Liberation Party (PLP) leader Martha Karua, among others, to form the opposition.
Just two days ago, in a strongly worded statement, Muturi demanded that the police be held accountable for the death of teacher and blogger Albert Ojwang, who died while in the Nairobi Central Police Station on Sunday, May 8.
Muturi condemned the Deputy Inspector General Eliud Langat, who filed the complaint that led to Ojwang’s arrest, stressing that the trend shows that state machinery is being used to silence dissent rather than uphold justice.
"A dead young man and a country forced to confront the rot in its criminal justice system. The question now is no longer just what happened to Albert Ojwang. It is also: Who will be next?” Muturi said in a statement on Monday, June 9.
