Mombasa Governor Hassan Joho is easily one of Kenya's success stories that emerged from cases of absolute poverty to succeeding in a relatively tender age.
In an interview that aired on Sunday, August 23, the outspoken county boss recounted his life as a hawker of vitumbua (a popular coconut and rice vegan donut or pancake) while still in school.
The self-proclaimed Sultan of Mombasa allowed Churchill Show crew inside the humble house where he was born, bred and lived a communal life in Mombasa before venturing out to find success on his own.
"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.
"Whenever I used to come back from school, my grandmother would be sitting at that corner (gesturing). My job would be to pack, carry and sell," he stated.
His education suffered during his transition from primary to secondary school after he narrated that he missed school for a year because his family could not afford to pay the fees.
He ventured out on is own while in Form Three where he began taking on all sorts of jobs to try and better his on life.
"When I got to Form Three, I became independent and began exploring ways in which I would support my family. I used to work after school.
"At some point, I even had some kind of an agreement with the principal to allow me space to be able to do certain things," he stated explaining that at times, he would not get time to wash his one set of uniform in between studies and work.
He had at the time secured a position as an offloader at the Mombasa Port and the principal would let him leave as early as 3 p.m.
"The money that I made that time supported me to continue with my education. What helped me when I went to the port was to be able to make a decision for my life because after that, I made a decision that I was never seeking employment," he added.
He explained that he cultivated sharp business skills and was never employed in his entire adult life.
He met a number of business dealers at the port, some who had originated from Somalia, and convinced them that he was a superb sales agent. He started selling a myriad of other items such as fridges.
When he was about 20 years old, Joho got a job as a clearing and forwarding agent at the Port of Mombasa.
He made Ksh6.6 Million in his first transaction and that was the largest amount of money he had handled since birth.
Joho also revealed that he was very close to his late mother and that she had played a big role in his introduction into the political world.
"I have best friends now but I have never had a friend that was close to me like my late mother. She was my everything. She struggled for me.
"She came from a fairly big family and so even her contribution towards my political career was immense," he added.
The county boss also revealed that his father worked at the Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) until retirement as a clerk.
Below is the video of Joho's narration:
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