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Former Public Service Cabinet Secretary Justin Muturi has alleged that President William Ruto personally pressured him to sign a controversial $1 billion (Sh129 million) deal while in transit at the Dubai airport during the COP28 summit in 2023.
Speaking during an interview on NTV, Muturi detailed what he described as an “unprocedural and suspicious” attempt to rush through a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) involving foreign investors, including Russian oligarchs, under the pretext of funding Kenya’s tree-planting programme.
Muturi recounted. “Even during that time, some Russian oligarchs were offering to invest one billion U.S. dollars here in Kenya.”
According to Muturi, President Ruto called him repeatedly, urging him to meet with the investors while he was still at the airport in transit.
“He said, ‘Those Russians, they are there, they are waiting.’ I said, ‘I'm just at the airport, I’m on transit.’ He said, ‘No, no, no, but they are there. Your people have already worked on the document.’”
Muturi refused to sign the MoU on the spot, insisting on reviewing it at his office in Nairobi.
He raised concerns about the deal’s structure, which allegedly sought to bypass legal financial channels by keeping the funds out of the National Treasury.
“I told them, this $1 billion can only be by way of a grant,” Muturi explained. “But it cannot come directly to the ministry because under the Public Finance Management (PFM) Act, Section 47, it must go through the National Treasury. They were trying to avoid that.”
Muturi further questioned the motive behind the deal, suggesting it was part of a wider scheme to commercialise public programs.
“You know, William, whenever he comes up with a program, it's for money-making. For him, it's for money-making,” he said.
The deal was reportedly tied to a proposed initiative to plant 3 billion trees as part of the government’s 15-billion-tree campaign.
Muturi, however, insisted the process was irregular and amounted to circumventing legal procedures for handling foreign grants.
Handling of the Cabinet
Muturi also accused Ruto of using fear, coercion, and intimidation to push through high-stakes government deals, some of which, Muturi alleged, were deeply irregular and potentially illegal.
Muturi painted a picture of a Cabinet stifled by fear and reduced to a rubber stamp for presidential interests.
He alleged that once President Ruto sets his mind on a particular project or investment deal, any attempt at dissent is shut down.
“If you want to know something where he has an interest, a CS will make a presentation and then William Ruto takes over,” Muturi said.
He begins now to explain, making sure there is no dissent. Slowly, he instills fear. The look he gives you tells you: on this one, he has interest. You have no option. He’s holding the Cabinet hostage.
In contrast, Muturi said Cabinet committee meetings chaired by impeached Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, current DP Kithure Kindiki or Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi allow for open discussion.
He also exposed fresh details about the Arror, Kimwarer, and Itare dam scandals, indicating that billions were paid to Italian contractors who delivered little to no work.
“In Kimwarer, nothing has ever happened. The report that came is false. You can’t even do the dam there,” Muturi said. “I was invited on three occasions to accompany a team to meet the Italian Prime Minister, but I had read the files. I just felt, no, no, no. It’s not possible.”
Muturi alleged that individuals close to the President were designated to lead delegations tied to these controversial projects.
“I assigned state counsels. I said, what is this? The country has already lost over Sh38 billion,” he revealed.
Despite mounting pressure, Muturi stood his ground.
I am a stickler for the law. I knew what I was doing. Contrary to what William Ruto may have thought, I keep records. I have a paper trail.
His claims, if substantiated, could deepen public mistrust in the Ruto administration and raise critical questions about the integrity of Kenya’s multibillion-shilling public projects.