Not Really! Tuju on whether he’d take a job from Ruto

Former Jubilee secretary general Raphael Tuju speaking on TV47 on Tuesday, September 9, 2025. /SCREENGRAB

Former Jubilee secretary general Raphael Tuju has said he would turn down a job offer from President William Ruto if one was extended to him.

Speaking on Tuesday night during an interview with TV47, Tuju was categorical that he is satisfied being out of active politics.

“I’m very happy where I’m at the moment. I’m enjoying a private life doing the things that I do like coming to this TV station and I’m able to talk without worrying about what’s the position of the government or the opposition,” he said.

“No, I won’t take it, I don’t need a job,” he added.

Tuju and Ruto had a frosty working relationship during their time together in the Jubilee administration, where Ruto served as Deputy President.

While Ruto has since broadened his government to include former rivals through his working relationship with ODM leader Raila Odinga, Tuju insists he is not looking for a position.

The former Cabinet Secretary revealed he is currently preoccupied with managing his businesses, which employ more than 100 people, and which he admitted had suffered during his years in politics.

“And it’s very difficult to pay somebody like me," he pointed out.

"I create jobs, so I will only do things that I want to do. I’m not looking for a job so that I get a salary. I’m not looking for a job so that I can get a position to make deals.”

Asked if he would consider returning to Jubilee ahead of the elections if prevailed upon by former President Uhuru Kenyatta, Tuju stressed that the future of Kenya’s politics would go beyond party affiliations.

“It’s no longer about party; it’s about the country. What is the construct that we can have in this country that can ensure that we have credible elections that would be peaceful?” he posed.

Tuju also dismissed the Gen Z-led anti-government protests, warning that unconstitutional or violent attempts to remove a sitting government would only lead to instability.

“So long as somebody has been elected, you don’t throw them out. In countries where that has happened like Somalia, they have never recovered. In countries where militaries have taken over, the military have sometimes stayed 20, 30, 40 years.

“Khartoum is in a state of civil war; it’s the military people who are calling the shots, not Khadija and Gen Z who were in the streets. It’s very important that we have a peaceful, constitutional change of government,” he said.