President Ruto is Doing Things That Have Never Been Done Before in This Country – CS Joho

Mining Cabinet Secretary Hassan Joho has defended his decision to work with President William Ruto, saying it should not be seen as a betrayal to Kenyans or his political allies.

Speaking during a recent event, the former Mombasa governor explained that politics offers two clear paths – either to stay in opposition and hold the government accountable, or to join the government and push for change from within.

“I don’t think we betrayed anybody,” Joho said.

“There are two options in politics. The first is to hold the government accountable, as the opposition does, and the second is to create change from the inside. When you get an opportunity to make a difference in an institution, you should take it.”

Joho noted that had Azimio la Umoja leader Raila Odinga won the presidency, he and others would have been part of his government implementing their manifesto.

Now that the chance has come under President Ruto, he argued it was time to use the opportunity to push forward some of the same ideas.

“There is no betrayal. What matters is what we are able to do now. We only have one Kenya and one government at a time,” he stated.

Asked whether his view of President Ruto had changed, Joho acknowledged that political dynamics evolve.

He said he now sees Ruto as both his president and his boss, noting that leadership demands respect for the government in power.

Joho also reminded Kenyans that his relationship with Ruto was not entirely new. Back in 2007, when he served as a legislator, Ruto was the Deputy Party Leader of ODM, and they worked together under the same political umbrella.

“It is not strange. We have worked together before,” Joho said, downplaying claims that his alignment with Ruto was unexpected.

The former governor’s decision to join Ruto’s Cabinet marks a sharp shift from his past stance as one of the president’s strongest critics.

Joho, who was previously seen as a close ally of Raila, now positions himself as a defender of the government’s agenda, insisting that his focus is on service delivery and national unity rather than political rivalry.