President Ruto, during the celebrations of the first anniversary of Hustler Fund, paraded Tuk Tuk Harrison Karisa to prove to critics that his story about the Mombasa resident transacting Ksh714,000 on the credit platform was true.
Karisa, who joined Ruto at State House today, admitted to borrowing funds from Hustler Fund to buy fuel and maintain a Tuk Tuk he drives.
With a starting limit of Ksh800, his limit was increased to Ksh1600, and higher, as he borrowed and repayed on time. Hence, Ksh714,00 was the total amount he transacted, factoring in the number of times he borrowed and repayed Hustler Fund.
However, Karisa and Ruto did not disclose the total amount he borrowed from the platform. Nonetheless, Ruto promised to buy him a new Tuk Tuk as a reward for his good credit score.
“This man who rides a Tuk Tuk that doesn't belong to him will walk out here today as a Tuk Tuk owner,” Ruto stated.
The President further topped his savings, which stood at Ksh35,730, with an extra Ksh3,000 since he had saved over Ksh 6,000 required to access an incentive.
Ruto, in November, promised to reward Hustler Fund borrowers with 50 per cent of their savings.
Under the Hustler Fund, 5 per cent of every loan is directed towards savings, 70 per cent to long-term and 30 per cent to short-term savings.
"If you have borrowed five times and saved Ksh6,000, we will give you Ksh3,000," he pledged. '
Ruto, on November 9, announced that Karisa accessed Ksh714,000 from the Hustler Fund, and preferred to use the money to access credit in the near future.
He added that the driver urged him to include Asset Financing in the Hustler Fund.
A section of opposition leaders, however, questioned how the Tuk Tuk driver accessed the funds, yet the personal limit was set at Ksh50,000.
"The bible says though shall not lie, when the President mentioned somebody from the Coast who had borrowed Hustler fund Ksh714,000 for his information and the public at large an individual can only get from Ksh500 to Ksh50,000," Migori MP Fatuma Zainabu Mohammed stated in Parliament on November 14.
Another section of Kenyans was even puzzled after learning that Kenga had yet to purchase and own a Tuk Tuk, which costs nearly Ksh300,000, yet he had transacted Ksh714,000.
