President William Ruto has dismissed Public Service Cabinet Secretary Justin Muturi following a fallout over the abduction of his son by the National Intelligence Service (NIS) in June 2023.
In a dispatch released by Chief of Staff and Head of Public Service Felix Koskei on Wednesday, the President nominated Mbeere North MP Geoffrey Ruku to take over the Public Service, Human Capital Development, and Special Programmes docket.
Ruku’s appointment is subject to parliamentary approval.
Additionally, President Ruto made further changes to his Cabinet, nominating Hanna Wendot Cheptumo, widow of late Baringo Senator William Cheptumo, as the Cabinet Secretary for Gender, Culture, the Arts, and Heritage.
The President also reassigned two serving Cabinet Secretaries in changes that saw Environment Cabinet Secretary swap dockets with his Health counterpart Deborah Barasa.
“By virtue of the Presidential Action, Cabinet is set to achieve its constitutional full strength—a move that bolsters the Administration’s capacity to continue steering Kenya’s socio-economic transformation,” Koskei stated.
Muturi’s sacking marks the peak of a fallout with President William Ruto after sustained tensions over rising abductions which the former Attorney General has blamed on government.
On March 12, Muturi dismissed calls for his resignation, insisting there was no valid reason for him to step down despite his refusal to attend Cabinet meetings.
Speaking on Citizen TV, Muturi addressed speculation about a fallout with President Ruto and denied claims of insubordination, expressing confidence in his position within the Cabinet.
Muturi defended his criticism of abductions, stating that he was fulfilling his duty as a public servant and that resigning would be “immoral.”
Accountability
He argued that leaders should commend him for advocating justice and accountability rather than demanding his resignation.
“The issue I raised on January 12 was an objection to abductions and extrajudicial killings happening in the country. I stated that, as a government, we must address these issues because if ignored, they could lead to chaos and anarchy,” Muturi explained.
He emphasized that speaking out against such violations should not be grounds for resignation, noting that the Kenya Kwanza coalition had pledged to end enforced disappearances during its campaign.
“As far as I know, it is not the policy of the government to abduct or kill people. Speaking against that cannot be a reason for resignation,” Muturi stated.
The feud between Ruto and Muturi escalated further on Wednesday after the now-sacked CS denied claims of incompetence during his tenure as Attorney General, following Ruto’s accusation of delays in creating a Muslim Endowment Fund.
Muturi clarified that the Waqf Act does not provide for the creation of a Muslim Endowment.
His response came after President Ruto, during an Iftar dinner at State House on Tuesday, described the former AG as “fairly incompetent” in handling legal matters, particularly regarding the establishment of Waqf—a commission responsible for managing Islamic endowments.
Muturi maintained that the existing law does not support the creation of such a fund.
President Ruto blamed Muturi for delays in implementing the Waqf Commission and assured the Muslim community that, under the new Attorney General Dorcas Oduor, the matter would be resolved within months.
“As we move forward, we will continue to address the issues raised here—particularly those concerning education—and explore the link between religious and formal education to determine what needs to be done,” Ruto said. By Bruhan Makong, Capital News
The Congolese President Tshisekedi, assisted by an efficient team at his Ministry of Foreign Affairs, succeeded these recent weeks to turn the tides of international public opinion towards the Kagame regime in Rwanda. The image of President Kagame shifted from “developmental dictator” to ruthless invader of his neighbour country, motivated by greed and thirst for power.
The Congolese President Tshisekedi, assisted by an efficient team at his Ministry of Foreign Affairs, succeeded these recent weeks to turn the tides of international public opinion towards the Kagame regime in Rwanda. The image of President Kagame shifted from “developmental dictator” to ruthless invader of his neighbour country, motivated by greed and thirst for power. Several western countries belatedly took sanctions against Rwanda in order to halt the progress of the M23/AFC movement supported by Rwandan troops. This does not necessarily imply support for the Tshisekedi regime. Countries in the region and the DRC population are painfully aware of the profound flaws of his rule.
GOVERNANCE PROBLEMS
(Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons)
The parliamentary majority which was pro-Kabila after the 2018 elections was bought off to ensure a pro-Tshisekedi stance. The 2023 electoral process did not see a return to a legitimate majority by free and transparent elections, but most MPs and probably also the president occupied their seat thanks to disorganized fraud. As a result, the legitimacy of the governing institutions is deeply flawed. Legitimacy can be acquired by good and efficient governance, but this has so far not been the case.
The current regime has clear issues with corruption, with the president justifying kickbacks as perfectly legal, or praising a minister of finance who reportedlyembezzled millions of dollars. Comprehensive files have been drafted about cases of corruption by the Finance Inspectorate, but no legal process or sanctions have been initiated. Instead it appears as if clientelist appointments are preferred over competence, affecting the country’s governance in a negative manner. The government itself is superseded by an army of presidential counsellors, constituting a parallel government. As a result of these issues, national and international reputation of President Tshisekedi has been profoundly damaged, and furthermore undermined by the President’s problematic reliability, frequently contradicting himself.
The President’s management of the war in the East has clearly exposed his difficulties to run the country, leaving it with very little resistance against a rebellion supported by an invading army. He is kept in power mainly through international support (with a surprising certificate of good governance delivered by the IMF !) and an apparatus of repression headed by the president’s brother who nevertheless has no experience or training in security matters.
The formal branch of the system is dominated by military intelligence (formerly called DEMIAP), doubled by a parallel informal branch headed by general John Tshibangu, who succeeded to have opponents arrested in Angola and Zambia, even in breach of elementary international law. Anyone who is considered to be an opponent is arrested, brought to secret detention centres and often disappears. This has proven to be efficient to block any dissident opinion. Apparently, priority is given to the protection of the regime rather than to find a realistic solution for the occupation of East Congo and the real problems behind the current crisis, despite a national budget for defense going beyond one billion USD.
nature of the current regime
What differentiates the Tshisekedi regime from its predecessors is its elevated communitarisation of power. The core of the regime is made up by Tshisekedi’s community of origin in the Kasai provinces. Despite his shortcomings, he enjoys considerable support through his community’s solidarity and external cohesion. After years of what the Kasai community experienced as discrimination, the Tshisekedi regime gave them clearly a preferential treatment for all appointments. Their often triumphalist attitude caused discontent with other communities and the regime is currently considered as a “Kasai regime” governing against the others.
The project to replace the current constitution to enable the current regime to continue for many years understandably raised resistance all over the country, which was only tempered by repression and fear for losing any financial advantages. Civil society is currently considerably weakened because many leaders who were very active in the struggle to prevent Joseph Kabila to remain in power now changed their attitude and support the current president for reasons of community solidarity.
At the center of the power structure is the presidential family, with key members as the president’smother controlling clientele networks all over the country. Almost any position of power or responsibility depends in one way or another from one or several members of the presidential family, be it members of parliament, province governors or vice-governors, military officers or members of the security apparatus. This implies that each clientele network neutralizes the others. It has become very difficult to sanction anyone for corruption, embezzlement or incompetence because of this clientele protection at the highest level. Needless to say that each network functions thanks to streams of money flowing from impoverished economic actors at the bottom to the top of the presidential family system.
This family network also uses the structures of the reigning UDPS political party.The UDPS during the nineties enjoyed massive support from all levels of society and all regions, in its struggle against the Mobutu regime. It is currently emptied from most of its competent officials and rules through local militias, attracting anyone looking for a job, a small remuneration, or even people engaging in criminal activities. The UDPS secretary general also commands a network all over the country.
what about katanga ?
The nature of the current regime is painfully felt in the mining province Katanga. A massive immigration from the impoverished Kasai provinces towards Katanga has created important social conflicts between the urbanized Katangese and the rural immigrant Kasai communities. The latter take on all sorts of small jobs, engage in petty trade and are recruited by local UDPS militias who are convinced that they have overtaken power and are at the origin of the appointments of a great number of UDPS officials (often from Kasai origin) in the Katanga provinces. They constitute a parallel power structure challenging the official authorities, controlling even a parallel customs administration at the key border post with Zambia Kasumbalesa, the export center of all minerals and key international trading post. With a great number of appointments of natives from Kasai at all levels, the local Katangese feel dominated and hope for the arrival of M23 to change the regime. They fear to speak out however because of the high level of repression. The party militias and the Kasai community (not the local Kasai community which has been living in the province for decades) fear vengeance from the Katangese if a regime change came about and have been armed with machetes and firearms to defend themselves.
Particularly important is the non-transparent managementof the mining sector by the current regime, going beyond anything committed in the past. According to local sources, not only are an important number of artisanal mining sites occupied by the government army and exploited for the real or alleged benefit of the presidential family, but military operations are organized to loot industrial production as happens e.g. with the Comide site from the company ERG, who reportedly wants to sell its assets because of this situation.
According to some sources, the sale of 20% of the production of the TFM company by Gécamines takes an opaque and non transparent route. Some mining companies reportedly work one week per month for the presidential family. Even in East Congo, the arrest of Mwangachuchu heading the SMB company controlling the Rubaya mine, responsible for about 40% of the current world tantalum production, was reportedly motivated by an effort overtake the mine for the benefit of the presidential family. In Katanga there is little or no return for this looting in terms of local investments.
lost credibility for felix tshisekedi
Felix Tshisekedi has lost credibility at the national, regional and international level, most of all by his difficulty to honour his commitments. But who could come next ? The most obvious candidate Joseph Kabila, who recently ended his long silence by media interventions and political consultations, is supported in Katanga who consider him to be a lesser evil than the current president. However, Kabila does not seem to have modified his idea of governance, political inclusion or prospects for the future of the DRC. In his reactivation of his party PPRD, he aligns the same officials as before and has not displayed any new vision for the country beyond criticism of Tshisekedi. His ally Moise Katumbi lost his political momentum in 2018 and does not take responsibility for a sound political leadership.
Martin Fayulu has failed to create any movement to consolidate his electoral victory in 2018. Still an important section of the younger, educated and technocratic political and economic elite of the country absolutely wants a profound change and a solution for the real problems of the country, even beyond the current political elite. If we want to avoid a a takeover by military who will not necessarily transform the country’s governance, or if we want to avoid a disintegration the country, new initiatives based on this discontent are essential.
The only realistic way forward, even if it is uncertain and tentative, is the initiative by CENCO/ECC who push for a broad dialogue and especially for a roadmap to address the real problems of the country through its “social pact”. This initiative, a beacon of hope, absolutely must be supported and encouraged at all levels. Only the Churches have currently a sufficient moral authority to design a framework for people and ideas to emerge who could point a way to a real solution. Yet another round of a transition which will inevitably lead to a recycling of a political elite disqualified in public opinion, will fail to bring a deeply needed real solution for the DRC. By Erik Kennes, Egmont
MTN Group and Airtel Africa have agreed to share mobile phone network infrastructure in Nigeria and Uganda. Statements by the duo on Wednesday said the agreement is aimed at saving investments while still increasing service coverage.
Mobile operators in Africa are seeing sustained demand for digital and financial services, but building and maintaining networks is expensive, especially for fast 5G connections.
The companies also said they will explore various opportunities in other markets, including Congo-Brazzaville, Rwanda and Zambia.
Among the deals under consideration are radio access network sharing, the largest portion of the cost in network deployment and operation; commercial and technical agreements for fibre infrastructure sharing; and, if necessary, the construction of fibre networks, they added.
The companies said, “This engagement does not preclude the parties from collaborating with other operators in any respective market.”
Speaking on the agreement, MTN Group CEO Ralph Mupita in a statement said “As MTN, we are driven by the vision of delivering digital solutions that drive Africa’s progress.
“We continue to see strong structural demand for digital and financial services across our markets. To meet this demand, we continue to invest in coverage and capacity to ensure high-quality connectivity for our customers.
That said, there are opportunities within regulatory frameworks for sharing resources to drive higher efficiencies and improve returns.”
Airtel Africa Chief Executive Officer Sunil Taldar said the agreement would avoid duplication of expensive infrastructure.
He added that sharing infrastructure allows operators to extend their network coverage more quickly, especially in rural or less densely populated areas where it might not be economically viable to build separate networks. By Channels Television
RSF fighters atop a pickup mounted with a multiple rocket launcher. (Courtesy photo)
The spokesperson for UN Secretary-General António Guterres on Tuesday said the global body is gravely alarmed by continued attacks on civilians across Sudan.
Stéphane Dujarric, who was briefing the media, revealed that on Monday night in North Darfur, dozens of casualties were reported when an air strike hit a market located about 40 kilometres north-west of El Fasher.
“The UN is also deeply concerned about escalating attacks on populated areas in Khartoum. In eastern Khartoum yesterday (Monday), there were reports of civilians killed and injured when artillery struck a mosque during evening prayers,” he said. “Civilian casualties were also reported on Sunday as a result of heavy shelling in Omdurman, Khartoum’s twin city.”
“The UN reminds all parties to the conflict of their obligations under international humanitarian law to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure, and to take all possible measures to avoid harm to civilians,” Dujarric added.
On the health front, he said that the ongoing hostilities and recent funding cuts by major donors have severely disrupted health services in Sudan, including in the Darfur region. Last month alone, nearly half of all reported attacks on healthcare facilities in Sudan occurred in Darfur.
“The UN’s partners working in health report that most facilities in the region have only one to two months of supplies remaining, with acute shortages in North and South Darfur states. The UN and its partners continue to do all they can to meet the rising needs – despite funding shortfalls and access constraints, including due to the ongoing hostilities,” Dujarric said.
“In North Kordofan, located to the west of Khartoum, the partners assessed recently that nearly 58,000 people – including displaced people, returnees and residents – are in urgent need of humanitarian assistance. A health partner is now operating a facility and mobile clinic, and distributions of food and non-food items are planned.
The UN continues to urge the international community to step up support for the humanitarian response in Sudan, both through increased funding and by pressing all parties to protect civilians, including aid workers, and ensure safe and unhindered access to people in need.
Turning to South Sudan, Dujarric said that following reports of renewed escalation in some areas in the county, the peacekeeping mission (UNMISS) is continuing its intensive engagements with key national actors to try and broker a peaceful solution.
“During meetings today with officials, including both the Vice President of the country, and the Minister of Defence, head of the peacekeeping mission, Nicholas Haysom, reiterated the urgent need to protect civilians, strictly adhere to the ceasefire, and resolve tensions through dialogue rather than military confrontation,” he stated. “The mission received reports of fresh aerial bombardments in Jikmir, near Nasir in Upper Nile State, as well as new clashes between the South Sudan People’s Defence Forces and Sudan People’s Liberation Army in Opposition near the capital Juba.” Radio Tamazuj
Embu Governor Cecily Mbarire addresses Journalists in Embu accompanied by other county leaders. March 18, 2025. [Muriithi Mugo, Standard]
A section of leaders from Embu County has expressed optimism that President William Ruto's planned visit to the Mt Kenya region will unlock development opportunities for the area.
This comes amid growing discontent from other leaders who oppose Ruto’s leadership, arguing that he has done little to transform the country.
While some doubt the visit will bring meaningful change, others see it as a chance to showcase progress in various sectors and engage directly with the President.
Governor Cecily Mbarire, who is also the UDA Chairperson, emphasised the importance of the visit.
"The people are excited to welcome the President, and we are confident that his visit will be beneficial for both Embu and the larger Mt Kenya region," she said. Mbarire highlighted that many development projects are either completed or nearing completion, offering the President an opportunity to inspect them.
She noted that due to time constraints, not all projects could be covered, and a follow-up visit might be necessary. She urged residents to turn out in large numbers, stressing that the region’s political alignment is crucial for its development.
Senator Alexander Mundigi rallied the people to show strong support for the visit, dismissing critics like Murang’a Senator Joe Nyutu, who had downplayed the significance of the tour. Mundigi called the visit "unstoppable" and asserted that it would bolster Ruto’s standing in the region.
"The plans are already in advanced stages, and this tour will bring new development projects and financial allocations," he said.
Runyenjes MP Eric Muchangi expressed hope that the President would fulfil his promises to the people, urging them to welcome him warmly.
"We voted for this government, and we expect more development," he said, emphasising the need for tangible progress.
In contrast, Manyatta MP Gitonga Mukunji, a vocal critic of both the President and the ruling Kenya Kwanza party, voiced concerns about the tour.
"If the President wants to know the truth, he should hold sessions to listen to the people, as he did during the 2022 campaigns. If this is another attempt to mobilise crowds with money to cheer him on, it will not be beneficial," Mukunji warned.
Ngari Mbaka, the Leader of Minority at the Embu County Assembly, highlighted the tour as an opportunity to remind the President of his promises. He pointed to key projects, including the Kiritiri-Kiambere road upgrade and the Kamburu water project, which require urgent attention.
Historically, Mt Kenya has been a decisive region in Kenya’s political landscape. In the 2022 elections, the region played a crucial role in Ruto’s victory. However, political dynamics have shifted since the controversial impeachment of Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, leading to internal divisions. Gachagua, once seen as the region’s political kingpin, remains a polarising figure, and his ouster has fuelled rifts among local leaders.
Ruto’s upcoming tour will be his first since Gachagua’s impeachment, coming at a time when political alliances are shifting in the region. His recent pact with ODM leader Raila Odinga has raised eyebrows in Mt Kenya, where Odinga was soundly rejected in the 2022 election. This new alliance has sparked anxiety among some leaders, further testing Ruto’s political standing.
In a notable development, Public Service Cabinet Secretary Justin Muturi, a prominent figure from Mt Kenya, announced that he would not accompany the President on this tour. His absence has added to the growing sense of uncertainty and political flux in the region. By Muriithi Mugo, The Standard
Informer East Africa is a UK based diaspora Newspaper. It is a unique platform connecting East Africans at home and abroad through news dissemination. It is a forum to learn together, grow together and get entertained at the same time.
To advertise events or products, get in touch by info [at] informereastafrica [dot] com or call +447957636854. If you have an issue or a story, get in touch with the editor through editor[at] informereastafrica [dot] com or call +447886544135.
We also accept donations from our supporters. Please click on "donate". Your donations will go along way in supporting the newspaper.