Justin Muturi Exposes How Ruto Tried to Coerce Him into Signing Ksh129 Billion Tree Planting Deal with Russians
Former Cabinet Secretary for Public Service Justin Muturi has alleged that President William Ruto attempted to coerce him into signing a suspicious Ksh129 billion deal with Russian investors while he was at the airport.
The deal, allegedly worth $1 billion (Ksh129 billion), was intended to fund the planting of three billion trees as part of the government's 15-billion-tree initiative.
Muturi stated that Ruto pressured him to approve the agreement while he was still at the airport, without giving him the chance to review the document.
It was during the 2023 December COP28 Summit in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, when the former CS traveled for a state visit, then directly flew to Dubai for the Summit, when he received a phone call from the president while he was still at the airport.
''I land in Dubai, Ruto is calling me, those Russians are in Dubai, they are waiting for you to sign the document, your staff has already worked on it, you just need to sign,'' Muturi narrated.
However, the former Attorney General firmly declined to endorse the agreement, maintaining that he could not, under any circumstances, approve the document without conducting a thorough review upon his return to the office.
"The document was for a deal, purporting to give a grant of one billion US dollars (Ksh129 billion) to allegedly grow three billion trees toward the 15 billion trees target," the former CS explained.
Muturi claimed that the president sought to bypass legal procedures by avoiding the mandatory involvement of the National Treasury in securing the grant.
"I told them the $1 billion can only be by way of a grant, but it cannot come directly to the Ministry...under the PFM Act Section 47, it can only go through the National Treasury. But they were trying to avoid this, yet it's money coming from abroad," Muturi further exposed.
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In December 2022, President Ruto launched the 15 Billion Tree Planting Initiative as part of a national effort to combat climate change and restore degraded landscapes.
The initiative aims to plant 15 billion trees by 2032, increasing Kenya’s forest cover from 12 per cent to 30 per cent.
The former CS crowned the decision by describing President Ruto's presidency as the most unfortunate thing that could have happened to Kenya.
