Mining Cabinet Secretary nominee Hassan Joho was questioned about his educational background and clarified that he started working before pursuing his academic qualifications later in life.
He was responding to questions from Suna East MP Junet Mohamed and Kikuyu MP Kimani Ichung’wah who had put him to the task to explain his educational background.
Ichung’wah on a lighter note said many Kenyans were surprised that Joho can even converse in English.
He admitted that he scored a D- in his KCSE education even as he explained that he has since "turned it around" and attained two degrees.
The former Mombasa governor told of his career path saying he is presently on the path to attaining a Master’s Degree at the prestigious Havard Kennedy School of Government.
“It is a programme on public leadership credentials. It is a pathway to attain a mid-career masters degree in public administration,” he told MPs vetting him for the job.
Joho said because of his poor background, he started working before going back to school.
The Mining CS nominee said he started with a bridging course in 2006 as he embarked on a journey to acquire his first degree.
“I did a bridging course to enable me to join university. I did a diploma in 2007 which enabled me to join Kampala University and eventually graduated in 2013,” he said.
After leaving Kampala, Joho went for another degree at Gretsa University, Thika, Kiambu County.
Joho stated that it was after the Gretsa course that he enrolled at Havard Kennedy School of Government for the public leadership credentials program.
“ It's common for people to have doubts about those from the Coast region, but we are just as qualified as any other Kenyan. Some of us come from a poor background. I did not grow up in an environment that allowed me to prosper in terms of education,” he said.
“I drew my inspiration from Prof Ali Mazrui…he did not succeed in his Cambridge examination to be admitted to university for first degree “I want Kenyans to know that historical struggles are real. Someone should never imagine that if they come from a place of comfort, there will be a leveled playground for everyone," he said.
He also excited the members of the committee when he told them that he was not surprised that the question would come up.
“It comes up every time there is an opportunity for me to do something…it started when I was running for the MP in 2007, a big conversation and even said my kindergarten certification was fake, but we succeeded,” he narrated.
He went on to state that when he was running for the gubernatorial seat in 2013, it became a major campaign issue with attempts to suspend his degree purportedly over alleged investigations.
Joho noted that after clearing school, he ventured into business by starting a clearing and forwarding company in Mombasa and later returned to continue with his education.
John is one of the two deputy party leaders of Raila Odinga-led ODM party alongside former Kakamega Governor Wycliffe Oparanya.
He joined active politics in 2004 and went on to become the Kisauni party chairman for the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) between 2006 and 2007.
During the 2007 general election, he got elected the Kisauni MP through the ODM party ticket where he served in various committees including that of Defence and Foreign Affairs.
He also landed a role in late president Mwai Kibaki’s government as an assistant minister for Transport.
In 2013, he vied for the Mombasa governorship, a seat he held until 2022 after successfully defending it in the 2017 polls.
During the 2013 election, he was declared the winner after garnering 132,583 votes against 94, 905 votes of his closest rival Suleiman Shahbal who emerged second.
In the 2017 election, he managed 220 576 votes to beat Shahbal who managed 69 322 votes.
During the 2022 general election, he opted not to vie for any seat after being promised a cabinet position in the Azimio government.
He was to be Lands CS had Raila won the presidency in 2022.
Joho sat for his Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) at Tom Mboya Primary School in 1988.
After a year at home, he joined Serani Secondary School.
In 1993, he completed his secondary education attaining a mean grade of D- (minus) in the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE).
He would later enroll for a certificate course at Kampala University.
In 2008, he obtained a certificate course in business administration that allowed him to enrol for a diploma course in human resource management at the same university.
In 2009, he satisfied the requirements prescribed by the institution’s Senate for the award of the degree of Bachelor of Business Administration.