Did Justin Muturi Lie About His Networth?

Former Speaker of the National Assembly Justin Muturi’s net worth rose from Ksh300 million to Ksh700 million in just eleven months. Muturi, who supported President William Ruto’s bid in the 2022 polls was nominated by President William Ruto as the new Attorney-General.

Appearing before a Parliamentary committee vetting cabinet nominees on October 17, Muturi declared that his net worth was Ksh700 million. A year ago, in a QnA session before he dropped his Presidential bid, Muturi had declared that his net worth was Ksh300 million.

While he did not explain what exactly led to the dramatic increase in fortunes during the vetting, Muturi revealed some of his income sources. He stated that much of his money was made away from the political arena, through wealth-generating activities including farming and consultancy. The lawyer and former magistrate further noted that he is a pensioner.

Last year, he told a Twitter user that he owned properties, investments he had been able to make from his salary, savings and loans.

“Most of my property was acquired through bank loans and civil servant remuneration for 36 years,” Muturi tweeted in response to a question from one user, Kiptanui (@enock_kiptanui) before abandoning his presidential bid to back Ruto instead.

Muturi at the time also backed calls for lifestyle audits for leaders to establish the source of their wealth.

“I support a lifestyle audit on all leaders, plus an explanation of how all their wealth was acquired, and this should not be done in secret,” he tweeted.

Muturi worked as a district magistrate between 1982 to 1984. Between 1985 to 1989, he worked as worked as a resident magistrate and was later promoted to the position of senior magistrate.

He was first elected to Parliament in a by-election in 1999. He represented Siakago Constituency on a KANU ticket, and would go on to hold a slew of government roles.