Cabinet Secretary (CS) for Energy and Petroleum Opiyo Wandayi has called out his colleague, Cabinet Secretary for Public Service, Performance, and Delivery Management Justin Muturi, over his recent statements on cases of abductions.
According to Wandayi, as high office-holding state officers, it is wrong for them to go public with issues they can raise at the level of cabinet and find solutions to them.
Wandayi insisted that Muturi should have raised his concerns about the abduction in the cabinet or within the government framework.
Wandayi, who spoke on Monday night, February 3, 2025, during a TV interview with a local station, added that if Muturi disagrees with the direction the government is taking or its policies, the right thing to do is to resign.
“It is a very strange phenomenon that one could criticize the very government that they serve in. As a member of the cabinet, I have more than enough avenues to air out my opinion or to express myself within the framework of the government or the executive, or more importantly, if for whatever reason I disagree with the position taken by the government or I disagree with the direction the government is taking or I disagree with the policies of the government. I can only do one thing, which is to quit,” CS Wandayi said.
The energy CS further added that as a human rights defender, he has never supported abduction or any human rights abuses.
In addition, he pointed out that it is improper to start blame games without adequate evidence.
“I don’t think anybody in their right senses can support abductions. My track record as a Kenyan human rights defender is clear that I have never supported any such atrocities or any human rights abuses. I am sure the relevant investigative agencies of the government are working round the clock to unravel this issue. I don’t think it is proper to start pointing fingers without adequate evidence,” he added.
Muturi on abduction
CS Muturi, whose son was previously abducted and later released, observed that the government should form a commission of inquiry to determine the root cause of the abductions. He equally observed that this was a grave matter which should be done with urgency.
“I am calling upon the President to order an immediate end to these abductions and killings. You promised Kenyans that this would never happen. We must establish an open inquiry to examine how these things have been happening. We cannot normalize this,” Muturi said.
