This archive report was first published on 7 July 2019.
On July 7, 2019, Trade Cabinet Secretary Peter Munya dismissed claims of a plot to assassinate Deputy President William Ruto, calling it a witch-hunt by his political detractors.
Munya made the remarks at his rural home in Muthara, Meru County, where he drew parallels with the biblical story of Queen Jezebel who plotted to have Naboth murdered over his vineyard.
"I came home to defend myself because you might think I have become a murderer," Munya told a funeral.
He added, "This is all made up. It is false witness against me, just like Jezebel did to Naboth because she wanted to grab his vineyard. This is a plot against us but God is with us. This is a political plot."
Four Cabinet secretaries from the Mount Kenya region were summoned to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) on June 24 over the alleged murder plot. The others are Sicily Kariuki (Health), Joe Mucheru (ICT) and James Macharia (Transport).
Munya said that when he received summons by SMS from DCI boss George Kinoti, he first thought the message was from "pranksters at Kamiti Maximum Security Prison".
He noted that President Uhuru Kenyatta tasked him with coordinating Mt Kenya development talks after legislators decried slow delivery of projects.
Earlier, Munya told off members of Parliament, saying they had been politicising the murder plot claim.
