Why ‘hustlers’ have no faith in the system

In his quest to create a cross-ethnic political movement through class-based mobilisation, Deputy President William Ruto has found willing supporters among so-called “hustlers.” The figures are in his favour. According to the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS), there are about 2,765,100 formal sector jobs in Kenya. Out of those, less than 83,000 make more than Sh100,000 a month.

For perspective, Kenya’s total labour force amounts to about 17 million people. Therefore, the vast majority of Kenyan workers fit the colloquial definition of “hustlers.”