Immediate former Public Service CS Justin Muturi  failed to attend three cabinet meetings prior to his sacking. These meetings were held on January 21, 2025, at Kakamega state lodge,  February 11, 2025 and March 11, 2025 at the Nairobi statehouse.

According to president William Ruto, while speaking in an interview with Mt. Kenya media stations on March 31, 2025, Muturi fired himself by absconding the crucial meetings.

Ruto said that he had given Muturi a second chance in the Public Service Ministry after he underperformed as the Attorney General.

“I gave my good friend Muturi a second chance, but in the process, he dismissed himself. What do you expect me to do? I give someone a second chance and he starts doing what he wants to do. It is not the end of the road; he has a very good pension as a former speaker so he will not suffer much,” Ruto said.

The former national assembly speaker however insists that that failing to attend cabinet meetings is not the reason he was fired. According to him it was because of his stand on abductions and extra-judicial killings.

In a press briefing on April 2, 2025, Muturi detailed why he shunned from the meetings and his reasons include;

Agendas of cabinet meetings did not capture the abductions and extra-judicial killings issues

Muturi said that he was invited to all the cabinet meetings and received agendas prior to the meeting. However, abductions were not part of the matters that were to be discussed during the meeting despite his numerous voicing on the subjects. He was compelled to write to the head of the state prior to the meetings asking to be excused  as his concience couldn’ t allow him.

“I did not abscond, Ruto fired me because of my stand on extra-judicial killings.  As usual I received the invitation to attend the cabinet meeting as well as the agenda of the cabinet meeting. After going through that agenda, I realized that there was no agenda touching on the question of abductions and extra judicial killings. I therefore  felt, in good conscience that it will not be fitting for me to attend a cabinet meeting that did not address such a monumental issue that goes to the core of our constitutional basis and the rule of law,” he said.

The president had pledged to address the matter but he failed to do so and completely ignore the subject

Despite writing to the president numerously, Muturi was ignored this left him believing that the matters were not worth of the head of state’s attention despite his earlier promise to end the vice.

“The president  himself on the 27th of December last year at a public rally in Homa Bay, when challenged about that issue, he pledged to put to an end  to abductions.”

“I wrote to the president drawing his attention to my earlier letter dated 20th of January and stated that I found it untenable for the highest decision making body of the state to continue sweeping the matter of abductions and extrajudicial killings under the carpet. I stated therein, that I will not attend any other cabinet meetings  until the issues of abductions and extrajudicial killings were listed as an agenda for discussion, debate and resolution on the way forward,” he said.

He felt it was Insensitive for cabinet to meet and fail to address the issues

“Additionally, I felt that for cabinet to meet and not address this issue would be either too insensitive or would be seen to complicit in those heinous activities,” he explained.

According to him, despite the fact that he was affected, there are  Kenyan families and relatives that don’t know the whereabouts of their kins to date, others were have been found dead while others have been released after undergoing torture.

“There is no doubt that I was sacked because of my very firm stand on the issues of abductions and extrajudicial killings and not because of the so called absconding of cabinet meeting. I dare say this, if the intention was to silence me, they have dialled the wrong number. I will never tire of fighting for the rights of the people of this republic, no matter what it costs,” he affirmed.