Muturi: I told Ruto my dismissal as AG needed a tribunal

Former Cabinet Secretary and ex-Attorney General Justin Muturi has opened up about the events that followed the dissolution of the Cabinet on July 11, 2024.

Speaking during an interview with NTV on Friday, Muturi stated that he called President William Ruto immediately after the Cabinet was dissolved and explained why he believed he could not be dismissed without a tribunal.

During an address from State House on July 11, President Ruto announced the dissolution of the Cabinet and the dismissal of the Attorney General, citing constitutional powers.

“I have, in line with the powers given to me by Article 152(1) and 152(5)(b) of the Constitution and Section 12 of the Office of the Attorney-General Act, decided to dismiss with immediate effect all the Cabinet Secretaries and the Attorney-General from the Cabinet of the Republic of Kenya, except the Prime Cabinet Secretary and the Cabinet Secretary for Foreign and Diaspora Affairs,” Ruto said on July 11.

However, in a tell-all interview on April 4,  Muturi argued that he believed that his removal required a tribunal, as outlined in the law.

“When the Cabinet was dissolved on the 11th of July, remember the President talked about the Attorney General of the Cabinet. I called him and told him, ‘Boss, there is only the Attorney General of the Republic of Kenya," Muturi argued.

“I told him you cannot dismiss the Attorney General under Section 12 of the Office of the Attorney General Act without setting up a tribunal.”

Muturi, who was recently dismissed as Cabinet Secretary for Public Service, emphasized that the law provides for a specific process involving a tribunal to investigate grounds for the removal of the Attorney General.

“If you read that section, it lists five grounds for removal, and those grounds can only be established through a quasi-judicial process—namely, a tribunal,” he said.

Following the events of July, reports later suggested that Muturi had resigned from office.

On August 4, 2025, he confirmed that he had resigned, contrary to earlier claims that he had been dismissed.

He said his decision was intended to give the President room to reorganize the government.

“It is true that I resigned, and there were reasons for that. As you would expect, at the National Executive level and across the country, there was awareness of some disquiet," Muturi said.

"The honorable thing to do at that particular time was to take the route provided for in law to allow the President an opportunity to reorganize his Cabinet as he desired."

He made these remarks while appearing before the National Assembly Committee on Appointments for vetting as Cabinet Secretary for Public Service.