Ruto to Raila: Respect hustlers, they're not thieves

The privilege of being Vice President's son is no license for you to insult hustlers, DP William Ruto has said.

Ruto was responding to ODM party leader Raila Odinga who without naming names said it was unfortunate that some politicians resorted to inciting their constituents when corrupt public officers are sacked.

"The theft of public resources is now called hustling. The sacking of corrupt and incompetent individuals is now called targeting our people..." Raila said.

But on Saturday, Ruto took a swipe at Raila saying that Kenyans hustling as bodabodas,hawkers,traders, small SME's, are not thieves.

"...but decent hard working citizens deserving respect. 'Ama mtoto wa maskini akipata ameiba, lakini wa tajiri akiiba ni biashara'," Ruto said.

Ruto has previously insisted that he can account for his wealth but has refused to state how much he is worth.

The DP has styled himself as a self made politician going by the 'hustler' brand.

Every life story has a beginning and the value of the tale is how far and how wide one goes from this starting point.

This contrast is typically used to define success and for Ruto, the beginning was a difficult one.

He spent his days selling chicken to motorists at Kambi ya Kuku, a makeshift marketplace built around the bumps along Eldoret-Malava road.