BREAKING: Kenya Minister Who Criticised Abductions Fired

A Kenyan minister who broke ranks to criticise President William Ruto over a spate of abductions, including his own son, was fired on Wednesday in a cabinet reshuffle.

Earlier this year, Public Service Minister Justin Muturi accused the intelligence agency of abducting his son, saying he was forced to seek Ruto’s intervention for his release.

Muturi’s son, Leslie, was abducted in June at the height of massive youth-led protests against the government’s tax proposals.

The Kenya National Commission on Human Rights has recorded more than 60 extrajudicial killings and 89 abduction cases since the June protests, with 29 people still missing.

Muturi, a former attorney general, repeatedly urged the government to launch a public inquiry into the disappearances and vowed earlier this month to boycott cabinet meetings until the issue was investigated.

Police have denied involvement in the abductions, but rights groups have accused a shadowy unit drawn from police, intelligence, counterterrorism and other agencies.

The president’s office announced on Wednesday that Muturi had been replaced by member of parliament Geoffrey Kiringa Ruku.

While Ruto has remained silent on Muturi’s criticism, he dismissed him as “fairly incompetent” as an attorney general late Tuesday.

Ruto has been making a series of changes in his cabinet since signing a political cooperation deal with his former arch-rival and opposition veteran, Raila Odinga, earlier this month.