Muturi opens up on clash with Ruto over project launch tours
Former Public Service Cabinet Secretary Justin Muturi, who in the recent past has been openly criticising the government ever since his ouster, has come out to speak on how he differed with President William Ruto while still serving as attorney general and a member of the Cabinet.
This was after the president began touring the country under the guise of inspecting government projects and launching new ones while also blaming cabinet secretaries for not going out to explain government agendas and plans to the public.
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Speaking during a podcast aired on Monday evening, July 14, 2025, the former AG said he disagreed with the president’s move of inspecting projects barely a year into the government’s term, at a time when not much had been accomplished and some of the previously launched projects had stalled.
According to Muturi, promising new projects without completing the initial ones — and having them stall soon after the president launched them — was damaging the government’s image among the public.
He went further to give another account where he clashed with the president, saying he was forced to confront him directly after Ruto accused cabinet members of failing to go out and explain to the public what the government was doing.
“This just came at a time after the completion of opposition-led protests of 2023, which were spearheaded by former Prime Minister Raila Odinga,” he recalled.
Confronting the president
He went on to say that he confronted the president, reminding him that, as a ranking member of the Cabinet, his role was different and did not entail public engagement in the same way as other CSs.
“If you want me to go out there, you must give me an exception because I advise the government. I can’t go out there to tell the public that this week I have advised this ministry that one, the other, or we have approved these bills. The AGs in the world don’t operate that way, because this advice is to government ministries and government parastatals, including even county governments,” Muturi said.
Emphasising AG’s role
In essence, Muturi was stating that the role of the Attorney General is advisory and largely confined within government structures.
He emphasised that, unlike other Cabinet Secretaries who manage public-facing ministries, the AG is not expected to publicly discuss legal opinions or advisory work given to ministries, departments, or counties. Doing so, according to him, would go against the global standard of how attorneys general operate.
