A social media post claiming that Trade and Industry Cabinet Secretary Moses Kuria has been sacked is FALSE.
The tweet made by a social media user Mukami Mungai came at a time when the CS was under fire over remarks he made on the hike in fuel prices in Kenya.
Even as Kenyans discussed the CS on social media, Mukami Mungai tweeted:
“BREAKING: The Cabinet Secretary, Ministry of Investments, Trade and Industry Moses Kuria has been sacked.”
The Fact-Checker has, however, established that the claim which has generated over 135,000 views by the time of writing is FALSE.
According to Article 152, section 5 ( b) of the Kenyan Constitution the CS being an appointee of the President can only be sacked by the Head of State, or upon recommendation by the National Assembly majority.
President William Ruto is in the US and there is no official communication either on his Twitter or Facebook pages informing the CS of the sack.
A scan through the State House's Facebook and Twitter Pages also shows no such communication.
The Star Fact-Checker has also searched for any credible media report regarding the sack and none was found.
If the CS was indeed sacked, such would have been a major news item considering that he is a high-profile state official.
The Star Fact-Checker also reached out to the Press Secretary of the Presidential Communication Service (PCS) Emmanuel Talam for a comment regarding the tweet.
“Fake News,” he responded to our inquiry.
A check on CS Kuria’s Twitter page indicated that he is still undertaking his duties as Cabinet Secretary for trade.
His latest assignment was a visit to Laikipia County.
“Earlier today in Rumuruti Laikipia County, I chaired a sensitization meeting attended by local leaders drawn from all the 15 wards ahead of the Laikipia County Aggregation and Industrial Park launch,” CS Kuria tweeted.
In another tweet he made earlier, the CS confirmed he is still a CS after he clarified his remarks on fuel and referred to himself as a “minister”.
“August fuel stocks will land in October. The cost is well known and it's scientific. September shipments will land in November. Costs are also known. From there we move to Winter in the US and expected stockpiles. And then the bilateral arrangements between Saudis and Russia on the one side and China and India on the other hand plus ongoing oil cuts,” Kuria wrote on his verified X account.
“As Minister responsible for the Private Sector mine is to advise a business based on science, not truthful voodoo,” the CS tweeted a few hours after Mukami Mungai posted the misleading tweet.
The Star Fact-Checker has debunked the claim and established that CS Moses Kuria has not been sacked yet and he is still a Cabinet member in President William Ruto’s administration.
This fact check was published by The Star Factcheck desk with technical support from Code for Africa’s PesaCheck newsdesk, through the African Fact-Checking Alliance (AFCA).