Governor Mombasa Hassan Ali Joho reveals the business that paid him Sh6.6 million at the age of 20

Joho reveals the business that paid him Sh6 million at the age of 20

Tony Mukere

August 24, 2020 11:57 AM

How Joho became one of the wealthiest people in Kenya

Governor Mombasa Hassan Ali Joho reveals the business that paid him Sh6.6 million at the age of 20

Mombasa Governor Hassan Ali Joho on Sunday night narrated his life journey that has seen rise to become one of Kenya's wealthiest and most powerful political leaders.

Joho revealed that his journey had not always been easy as he was raised by a single mother is a small house in Majengo informal settlements.

His mother had separated with his father and Joho went to live with his mother, his maternal grandmother and aunt as well as cousins.

He added that his grandmother inspired his entrepreneurial spirit which would become instrumental in his adult life.

"My late grandmother used to make vitumbua every afternoon. So she prepares it through the night and actually make it at around 3 p.m. I would help hawk them and that's where I became a really good sales person," he recalled.

While in secondary school, Joho said he started working part time at the Old Port where he used to load and offload scrap metals from trucks.

"It was a really menial job and I looked like a gym fanatic but it was because of the hard labor carrying those loads. It was here that I learnt how to import and clear and the documents you needed to have."

"Somalia at the time was just getting into a war so many people came through the sea and they would import things they left through the port. My brother connected with these people and I convinced them to become their sales agent. My biggest cheque was Sh6.6 million at the age of twenty years," Joho stated.

The Mombasa Governor further recalled his life as a shows promoter when the Redykyulass comedy show debuted in Mombasa.

Joho's interviewer, Churchill Ndambuki, was then a small time comedian at Redykyulass and remembered The Governor driving them around as a crew driver.