Kenyans React as CS Joho Claims He Would Be a Straight-A Student Under Ruto’s Administration

Mining and Blue Economy Cabinet Secretary Hassan Joho has sparked a heated national debate after declaring that he would have been a straight-A student under President William Ruto’s administration.

Speaking in Mombasa on Thursday, November 12, 2026, during the Kenya Comprehensive School Heads Association National Annual General Meeting, Joho directly linked his past academic struggles to severe poverty rather than a lack of intelligence.

Reflecting on his 1993 Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education results at Serani Secondary School, the Cabinet Secretary explained that intense financial hardship forced him to balance classroom learning with manual labor just to survive.

According to Joho, a special arrangement with his school principal allowed him to leave classes early to work and earn a living.

This grueling schedule left him with very little time to study or prepare for his final national examinations, making simply completing Form Four a major achievement.

Addressing the gathering of school heads and education stakeholders, Joho praised President Ruto’s governance philosophy of national equality, commonly referred to as “Usawa ni Sawa”.

He argued that the current system evaluates learners based on their intellectual ability rather than their parents’ financial standing.

Joho emphasized that when a student is judged by the sharpness of their mind instead of the size of their family’s wallet, children from humble backgrounds stand a fair chance at achieving top academic grades.

His bold remarks quickly drew mixed reactions across the country, particularly on social media platforms where Kenyans actively debated the realities of today’s education funding model.

While supporters applauded Joho’s inspiring resilience—noting his journey from a low high school grade to earning university degrees and recently enrolling for postgraduate studies at the Technical University of Mombasa—critics questioned whether current policies truly eliminate financial barriers for needy students.

Ultimately, Joho used his personal story to urge educators across Kenya never to write off learners facing economic challenges.

His message underscored the idea that early exam grades do not always capture a student’s true potential when basic daily needs remain unmet.

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