Mombasa Governor Hassan Joho has mocked Deputy President William Ruto for branding himself a hardworking hustler when he is actually a billionaire swimming in money.
Joho said the ‘Hustler Number One’ tag makes a mockery of the Kenyan people who are struggling to make a living.
Joho is an ODM deputy party leader.
Speaking in Lamu on Saturday , Joho asked the DP to drop the 'hustler' label and tell it like it is: He's "Mr Moneybags" and his lifestyle tells it all.
“You live in a mansion worth billions, you move around in a fleet of five choppers, you live large. Then you tell Kenyans that you are a hustler.
"It's a big mockery of our people. What about the struggling jua kali people, the jobless graduates, the small-scale traders, the hawkers, the poor, the slum dwellers, the squatters. These are the hustlers of this country. You're so sarcastic,” Joho said.
The governor urged the DP to learn the real definition of a hustler. He referred to millions of jobless youth, unemployed graduates, women, orphans, slum dwellers and squatters whose land was grabbed.
The Mombasa governor said Joho was simply "toying with the minds of Kenyans" and creating the impression of living a humble life.
Joho asked Ruto to prove his support for the graft war by explaining what he knows about the Sh7 billion for the Arror and Kimwarer dams. The DP has said this is the only amount in question and none has been lost.
The DPP has said at least Sh21 billion has been lost in the dams scandal.
“Okay, let’s say it's Sh.7 billion... then account for it. Tell Kenyans what happened to it," Joho said. He said the DP was making Sh7 billion "look and sound small".
Joho urged President Uhuru Kenyatta not to spare anyone in the war on corruption, no matter their position in government.
The governor said he would lead by example and was ready to be arrested anytime if found guilty of corruption. The same should go for those guilty in the dams scandal.
“The handshake has been our saviour," he said. "So many scandals and ills involving top government leaders have been brought to the fore as a result. Those opposing the war on graft are thieves.
"A thief will always a thief and their place is in jail,” Joho said.
“I am the President’s number one fan in as far as the war on graft goes," Joho said.
The DCI is yet to conclude investigations into the dams scandal. Five CSs have been questioned.
