Former Public Service Cabinet Secretary Moses Kuria is facing deeply disturbing accusations, with shocking revelations emerging from a source as close as his own brother, Aloise Kinyanjui, painting a picture of a man who will stop at nothing to protect his political interests and please those above him.
Kuria, who serves as President William Ruto’s key pointman in the Mt Kenya region, has long been regarded in political circles as one of the untouchable figures surrounding the current administration, a man who operates in the shadows and does whatever is necessary to keep the state machinery humming, even if that means hurting or eliminating those who stand in the way.
With Ruto having largely lost the confidence of Mt. Kenya, the president has desperately leaned on Kuria to help claw back support in a region that was once considered his political bedrock. Critics say this arrangement has given Kuria dangerous levels of impunity.
The allegations against Kuria stretch back years. In the run-up to the 2017 presidential election, Kuria is said to have masterminded the killing of Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) IT manager Chris Msando, a man who had publicly vowed that he would not allow anyone to manipulate the IEBC’s IT systems and that the 2017 presidential election would be free, fair, and verifiable. Msando never got the chance to fulfill that promise. He was killed before election day, and Kuria, who was at the time a close ally of both former President Uhuru Kenyatta and Ruto, was reportedly spotted at the crime scene in Roysambu, where Msando met his death.
More recently, former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has accused Kuria of orchestrating violence against pro-government supporters in Mt. Kenya, with the intention of pinning the blame on the united opposition leaders. Gachagua made these claims in connection with the case of Rachael Wandeto, a woman who was attacked with acid at her home in Mwiki.
Wandeto, who had famously tattooed President Ruto’s image on her chest, later succumbed to her injuries at Kenyatta National Hospital in Nairobi. Opposition leaders were initially blamed for her death, a claim Gachagua and others have strongly disputed, pointing fingers instead at those within the government’s own circles.
Now Kuria has reportedly set his sights on a new target. Kameme FM presenter Muthoni Wakirumba, a sharp and fearless voice who has been consistently exposing state rot and corruption, has found herself in the crosshairs. Kuria is accused of running a coordinated campaign against her, including leaking her personal details in what many see as an attempt to silence her or make her a marked woman.
Wakirumba herself has gone public with her fears, stating plainly that her life is in danger and that state agents and their sympathizers may be plotting to bury her six feet under. Her concerns are not being taken lightly by those who have watched how previous cases involving individuals who crossed powerful state actors have quietly gone cold, much like Rachael Wandeto’s case at Kasarani Police Station, which sources say is no longer being actively pursued.
The pattern, if the allegations are to be believed, is chilling and consistent. Speak against the wrong people in Kenya, and you may not live long enough to repeat yourself.
