Health Principal Secretary Nicholas Muraguri was a man not known to many until a time last year in October when 'bad luck' seemingly came knocking at his doorstep.
Since then, the Health PS has over time gained popularity for all the wrong reasons, with five controversies now hanging around his neck.
On Monday, Mr Muraguri found himself in the thick of things after it emerged that he was to blame for the failed talks to resolve the protracted doctors' strike and the subsequent jailing of officials of the doctors' union.
According to COTU Secretary-General Francis Atwoli, who had been tasked to mediate talks to end the strike, Muraguri has been inciting the Kenya Medical Pharmacists and Dentists Union (KMPDU) officials to hold on to the industrial action.
Atwoli disclosed that Muraguri, who Kenyans are now demanding his sacking, was not willing to work hand-in-hand with Health Cabinet Secretary Cleopa Mailu to end the medics strike which is on its 73rd day today.
The COTU Secretary General mentioned that the PS would skive the set negotiation meetings meant to come up with a return-to-work agreement.
Read Also: Atwoli Exposes Powerful People Benefiting From Doctors Strike
In October 2016, Mr Muraguri came under the spotlight after threatening a Nation Media Group journalist probing the Sh5 Billion Health Ministry scandal which was brought to light after an interim audit report was leaked to the media.
According to the interim audit report, the auditor was questioning the whereabouts of Sh5 Billion.
However, Muraguri dismissed the Business Daily journalist highlighting: "Someone can be reading your story while seated here. If there is need to hack Nation's system we can."
His remarks sparked an uproar in the country forcing him to apologise over his choice of words.
After the audit report leaked, it later emerged that Muraguri wanted to eject from the Ministry of Health, the auditor who discovered the anomalies in the Sh5 Billion spending.
In December the same year, the PS hit headlines over his a Sh120 Million palatial rural home which also raised curious questions.
The expensive country home that sits on a 19-acre piece of land in Mweiga, Nyeri County set a stage for a debate with a section querying how he was able to acquire the money, just a year after his appointment.
Read Also: Government Official's 120 Million Village House Causes Trouble
In February 2017, Mr Muraguri's team was on the spot again following the disappearance of 80 Million donated by Mt Kenya billionaires for the mobilization of voters in Nyeri County.
The PS was in the secretariat obligated to head the exercise in President Kenyatta's stronghold but local leaders claimed that the millions donated had not been utilised properly.
They accused the secretariat of misusing the funds by relaxing in prestigious hotels in the area instead of going to the villages for recruitment.
Read Also: Billionaires’ Sh80 Million Donation to Uhuru Goes Missing
