“Poverty With a Helmet” — Muturi Tears Into Ruto’s Boda Boda Plan

Justin Muturi has taken off the gloves and gone straight for President William Ruto’s pet project. The former Cabinet Secretary says the government is dressing up poverty and selling it to the youth as a future. And he gave it a name. “Poverty with a helmet.”

He also mentioned that the government is busy giving out handouts and calling them jobs. He called it “poverty Olympics” and warned it will not solve the real unemployment crisis. “It’s like giving someone a spoon to dig a dam,” he said.

This comes after Ruto proudly defended his Bottom Up Economic Transformation Agenda at the Nairobi County Empowerment Programme held at State House. Ruto said his government had supported more than 1,100 business groups in Nairobi with tools, equipment, and funds. “Every Hustle Matters,” Ruto declared.

He even went further. From next month, 70 young people in each of Kenya’s 1,450 wards will get Sh50,000 each to start or grow their businesses. The money will come from a programme between the government and the World Bank.

“That is how we are building a more transformed, more inclusive and more equal Kenya,” Ruto said.

Muturi was not impressed. He said small hustles have their place but they cannot be the centrepiece of a national youth plan.

“When the head of state pushes boda bodas and car washes as a vision for the youth, the underlying message is: we don’t expect you to dream big,” he said. “It’s an insult wrapped in a smile.”

He warned that Kenya is on the path to producing “more boda bodas than engineers” which will slow the economy. He accused the government of chasing photo sessions instead of real change. “Handing over a boda boda on camera creates a great photo op. But it doesn’t build a future. The youth become props, not partners in development.”

Kenya’s median age is about 20. Muturi calls that a “goldmine of potential” that is being wasted. He says the government should be creating jobs in technology, manufacturing, creative industries, and renewable energy.

Then he went in harder. He said the small hustles are nothing more than political bait. “True empowerment gives people the tools to change their lives permanently, not survive from day to day. The boda-boda policy is poverty with a helmet,” Muturi said. “Mr President, stop calling crumbs a feast.”

The picture he painted is one Kenyans know well. Every election season, leaders promise jobs, industries, and big opportunities. But after the elections, we see photo ops of wheelbarrows, boda bodas, and water tanks being handed out like grand prizes.

The cycle never changes. Leaders smile, crowds cheer, cameras flash, and the real problem stays untouched. Giving one boda boda to one person might help that person, but it does nothing for the millions still jobless.

Ruto has always stood by his hustler story. He says every kind of work has dignity and should be respected. But critics say it traps young people in survival mode forever.

Featured image via Screengrab