IN SHORT: Moses Kuria is a controversial politician. But he remains in president William Ruto's cabinet, despite false claims to the contrary.
In September 2022 Kenyan politician Moses Kuria was appointed cabinet secretary for trade and investments by president William Ruto.
But he has had a controversial tenure, culminating in a top US envoy reportedly refusing to meet with him in July.
He was also criticised for comments on social media, with some calling for his dismissal.
In September 2023, he told Kenyans that fuel prices would continue to rise sharply every month until next year, which was seen as being insensitive to public concerns about the rising cost of living.
He later apologised, albeit tongue-in-cheek. “I am made to now understand that the price will come down. I apologise profusely since to err is human,” reads part of his post on X.
He also clashed with deputy president Rigathi Gachagua. It was in this context that online claims that he had been sacked began to make the rounds, and were still circulating in October 2023.
On 5 October Ruto reshuffled his cabinet, moving Kuria to the ministry of Public Service, Performance and Delivery Management.
Importantly, he is still in the cabinet and can only be dismissed by the president.
We searched for any official communication from Ruto or State House spokesperson Hussein Mohammed about Kuria's dismissal, but found none. An October 2023 cabinet memo instead referred to his new physical office.
In addition, we could not find any reports of the dismissal from credible media sources.
Furthermore, an analysis of Kuria’s social media pages on X and Facebook shows that the cabinet secretary has been carrying out his official state duties, as recently as 16 October.
Reports of Kuria's dismissal are therefore false.
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