Public Service Cabinet Secretary Justin Muturi has defended his account of his son’s abduction after facing skepticism from some political leaders.
His recent revelations about his appeal to President William Ruto for assistance have ignited a political debate, with certain figures questioning the timing and intent behind his disclosure.
Muturi recounted his ordeal during an interview with a local TV station on Wednesday, March 12, 2025, where he sought to clarify the circumstances surrounding his conversation with the president. He explained that upon learning of his son’s abduction, he sent a distress message to Ruto at around 3 am, hoping for immediate intervention. However, he did not receive a response at the time.
Determined to escalate the matter, Muturi later made his way to State House to seek the president’s help in person. It was there that he discovered Ruto had not seen his message due to a technical issue with his phone. The device had reportedly malfunctioned.
When Ruto eventually retrieved his phone, the technician informed him that while it was now functional for making calls, it was unable to send messages. It was during this moment that the president personally reached out to Director of Public Prosecutions Noordin Haji to discuss the situation and facilitate urgent action.
Muturi also addressed misinterpretations of his account, particularly regarding his presence near the president during the exchange. He emphasized that he was standing alongside Ruto at the time and directly engaged in the conversation.
“That portion of standing outside the pavillion, I have seen it being misinterpreted. I want to make it clear. It was I and the president. The President and I were standing next to each other; it’s not that I was hearing him talk from a distance. I told him that I sent him a text message at 3 am & from my phone, it looked like he had not read it,” Muturi narrated.
Adding;
“That’s when he confessed to me that his phone had crushed. When he got his phone back from a young man who was fixing it, he told him that he could make a call but he could not send a text, and that was when he called Noordin.”
In January 2025, the embattled CS narrated that his son, Leslie, had been abducted by the National Intelligence Service (NIS) in June 2024 and was only released after the president intervened. His account, however, has been met with doubt from various leaders, some of whom believe the timing of his statements is politically motivated.
Pressure to resign
Kapseret Member of Parliament Oscar Sudi was among those who criticized Muturi, calling his claims a desperate attempt to regain political relevance. Sudi dismissed Muturi’s account as blackmail and suggested that his political career was declining. He argued that the timing of the revelation raised suspicions and implied that Leslie might have had legitimate legal troubles.
“This desperate move, made now that your political career has waned, is a clear blackmail attempt. The timing is highly suspicious, revealing a cowardly man clutching at straws for political expedience,” Sudi stated.
Sudi went further to call for Muturi’s resignation, arguing that there are many capable professionals from Embu County who could serve in his position. He accused Muturi of using the situation for personal political gain and urged him to step aside amid growing scrutiny.
Similarly, Homa Bay Town MP Peter Kaluma raised concerns about the credibility of Muturi’s account, particularly regarding the involvement of high-ranking officials. Kaluma questioned how the claims could be corroborated if the President and the NIS Director-General were to deny the alleged communications.
“CS Muturi has given his statement on abduction in which he states he contacted various people for help, including the President, DG and NIS. How do we corroborate (confirm as true) the matters he has attributed to the President, DG NIS, and the third parties? What if the President and DG, NIS, denies the alleged communication?” Kaluma posed.
Since the incident and his outspoken criticism of the Kenya Kwanza government, speculation about his future in office has intensified. Calls for his resignation have grown louder following his public rebuke of Ruto’s administration.
Belgut MP Nelson Koech, a staunch ally of the president, has repeatedly asserted that Muturi’s exit is imminent, accusing him of directly challenging Ruto’s authority.
“CS Muturi is daring the president to fire him… he is a man going home,” Koech recently stated.
Muturi’s absence from a Cabinet meeting on January 21, 2025, has only added to the speculation surrounding his fate. However, despite mounting pressure from lawmakers urging him to step down, Muturi has remained resolute, refusing to yield to the calls for his resignation.
