Former National Assembly Speaker Justin Muturi has dismissed President William Ruto’s recent remarks on parliamentary bribery as “an empty charade,” accusing the Head of State of being the chief architect of corruption in Parliament.

In a strongly worded statement, Muturi said Ruto’s public claims that MPs were bribed to influence votes are hypocritical, arguing that the President himself engineered a majority in Parliament through inducements and political coercion soon after assuming office in 2022.

“Ruto’s fingerprints are all over the buying of Parliament. He cannot feign shock that MPs are corruptible when he built his majority through bribery and state patronage,” Muturi said.

He alleged that the controversial passage of the Finance Bill was achieved through intimidation, threats, and financial incentives to lawmakers, adding that no arrests or prosecutions will follow because “the money trail ends at State House.”

Muturi accused the President of using bribery allegations as a political distraction from economic hardships, corruption scandals, and governance failures, insisting that true accountability must begin with scrutiny of State House operations and the inducements offered to MPs.

“Kenyans are not fools,” Muturi stated. “If Ruto is serious, let him open State House books and explain how his minority administration suddenly became a parliamentary juggernaut.”

Muturi urged Kenyans to see through what he described as political theatrics, warning that the bribery debate is being used to divert attention from pressing national issues such as high taxes, unemployment, and the struggling healthcare system.