“What I want to assure this honourable committee is that I appreciate certain factors of life and you must have a balance. When you are serving the people, you must first of all make them feel comfortable,” he stated.
“You must make them feel you are one of them. So opulence for me is a no. When I am working, I am working, when I am enjoying myself in my own setup at home, that’s fine and that’s another story. But when I’m going to Kenyan people, my dedication is to work for them.”
Joho was responding to a query from Kikuyu MP Kimani Ichung’wah who pointed out clips shared on TikTok regarding his opulence. However, the nominee explained that he owned several watches worth millions of shillings even before joining the public service.
“You asked about valuables of jewellery but I am talking about watches and I have been wearing them even before I became a Member of Parliament. I know how to balance. I don’t have to wear it so I can show off, for what? What value will it give to anybody?” He posed.
“I enjoy wearing it (watch). Even this morning, I was debating whether I should wear a watch or not. It was a big debate at home. I said I would cover under my shirt sleeves because I don’t have to show off,” he told the panel while demonstrating.
At the same time, Joho dismissed claims that he had gained prominence and amassed wealth through the drug trade. He was referring to being implicated in drug trafficking scandals in 2010 in a report that was tabled before Parliament and he was later cleared after an extensive probe.
The report was issued by the US Embassy and was cited in the House by then Internal Security Minister George Saitoti listing Joho and other suspects as drug traffickers who operate in Kenya.
However, the late Saitoti returned to Parliament and tabled a report on the investigation and the outcome and it was a multi-agency international investigation that “clearly stated that no iota of evidence was found against me.”
The ex-Mombasa Governor further told the committee that his wealth has been accrued through undertaking clean and legitimate business, adding that the matter should finally be put to rest.
“I am not a fool, I come from a family that is blessed with businesses,” he said, adding “I do clean business, visible, that can be audited, physical and so if anyone speaks of the report that was tabled on the dossier also talk about the report that came after that that cleared us.”