Nyandarua Senator Methu Muhia has hit back at President William Ruto for calling Public Service Cabinet Secretary Justin Muturi incompetent during his tenure as Attorney General.
In a statement on Wednesday, March 26, Methu criticized Ruto for promoting Muturi to a higher office despite questioning his capabilities.
“How do you reward an incompetent staff by promoting him to a bigger office? Mr. President, stop taking Kenyans for a ride. On Tuesday, March 25, you said Justin Muturi was incompetent, but instead of firing him, you promoted him to a higher office,” he stated.
Methu further accused the Ruto administration of being intolerant to criticism and targeting leaders who speak out against it.
"It's quite clear that your administration is incapable of taking criticism and has now resulted to maligning leaders who speak the truth. They say before the hyenas eat their young ones, they first accuse them of smelling like sheep," he added.
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Speaking during an Iftar dinner at State House on Tuesday, March 25, Ruto criticized Muturi, stating that his tenure as Attorney General was marked by incompetence.
He expressed confidence in the current Attorney General, Dorcas Oduor, assuring Kenyans that key legal matters would be addressed promptly.
"I had a problem with the AG who was there, he was fairly incompetent. But I now have a very competent lady in that position, and I can assure you that the issues of Waqf will be sorted out in a matter of months," he said.
In his defence, Muturi said there is no provision for a Muslim Endowment Fund under the Waqf Act No. 8 of 2022.
The Public Service CS also pointed out that waqf is managed by the Waqf Commission.
“Under the Waqf Act no.8 of 2022 there’s no provision for a “Muslim Endowment Fund “. It must be understood that a waqf is a religious, charitable, or benevolent endowment by a person who professes Muslim faith and is managed by the Waqf Commission,” he stated.
In the wake of this accusation, a scorecard released by the State Law Office revealed that Muturi defended 1,503 out of 1,588 cases filed against the government between September 2022 and September 2023 while he was serving as the Attorney General.
The office said an analysis of some of the concluded cases demonstrated savings to the Government above Ksh17.5 billion.
Some of the cases Muturi’s office successfully defended and saved the government money include the Nairobi Civil Appeal No. 638 of 2019, Attorney General vs Kabuito Contractors Limited, where the Supreme Court dismissed the appeal, thereby saving the government Ksh5.2 billion, and Nairobi Supreme Court Petition No. E006 of 2022, Torino Enterprises Ltd vs Attorney General, where the Supreme Court dismissed the appeal, saving the Government Kshs3.7 billion.
Another case won by Muturi was the Eldoret ELC No. 649 of 2012, Stephen K. Cheruiyot -v- Attorney General and others, where the court dismissed a third-party claim against the Attorney General for the sum of Ksh100 million being an indemnity for wrongful allocation of the land.
The exit scorecard also revealed that Muturi issued 708 legal advisories on bilateral, regional, and international law matters issued to Ministries within six days of receiving the requests and 225 advisories in matters on International Judicial Cooperation in criminal matters within 6 working days.
