NAIROBI, Kenya, Feb 3 – Environment Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale has dared his Public Service counterpart, Justin Muturi, to resign following heightened criticism on the government.
Speaking on Sunday, Duale who accused Muturi of provoking the President to fire him so tht he gins public sympathy, said the former Attorey General should raise all his concerns on abductions in Cabinet meetings instead of publicly criticizing the same government he serves.
“CS Muturi had the opportunity to present a substantive agenda. I wanted Muturi to bring all his concerns about abductions to the Cabinet. CS Muturi is among the privileged 22 who sit at the highest decision-making organ of our country,” Duale told Sunday Live.
“You don’t expect the IG or a minister to go public,” he added refering to Muturi’s heightened criticism on abductions.
He added that Cabinet members must respect their appointing authority, arguing that any CS unhappy with the government should resign instead of publicly opposing it.
Duale also defended President William Ruto against accussatios ongoing abductions, stating that the administration has made addressing extrajudicial killings a key priority in its manifesto.
‘Thousands killed pre-2022’
He claimed that the previous regime killed thousands of people and that the families of victims would “fill the entire Uhuru Park”.
Duale said the previous regime, led by former President Uhuru Kenyatta, worsened the problem of enforced disappearances. He argued that Ruto does not condone abductions and that the government is committed to addressing the issue.
“In the last administration, thousands and thousands of people died. Take a camera, walk in Garissa, Mombasa, Mandera—any city—and ask those who lost their loved ones during the last administration to come out; they will fill Uhuru Park. If there is anybody within the security agency involved in abductions, that is not the position of the President,” Duale said.
Duale’s remarks come as Muturi emerges as the sole voice within the Cabinet speaking against the government’s inability to stop the epidemic of abductions and killings in the country.
The former Attorney General urged President Ruto to put an end to the abductions, warning that the status quo risks damaging the country’s reputation.
Muturi, who has recently become a vocal critic of the ongoing abductions, proposed a Commission of Inquiry into the root causes of the recent spate of abductions, saying the trend will plunge the country into “chaos and anarchy.”
He stated that the inquiry team should include stakeholders from all sectors.
Muturi urged President Ruto not to turn a blind eye to the matter, saying the increasing number of abductions and extrajudicial killings is alarming and must be addressed urgently.
“The buck must stop somewhere—in this case, with the President and Commander-in-Chief. Therefore, Mr. President, I am calling upon you now to order an end to these abductions and extrajudicial killings, which you promised, and to establish an open inquiry into how these things have been happening,” Muturi said.
