‘At least I didn’t sweat that much,’ PS Hinga jokes after heated TV interview

Housing Principal Secretary Charles Hinga is making fun of himself over his sweating which caused an online storm last month.

Amid the heated national debate over the controversial Housing Fund proposed under the Finance Bill, 2023, Hinga held a press conference at State House, Nairobi, to help educate the masses.

It became fodder for Kenyans online, generating lots of memes of him sweating, drinking water, knocking down his glass and speaking in a preacher’s voice.

And on Wednesday night, the PS participated in a televised debate on the Finance Bill hosted by Royal Media Services, where he was challenged by economist Kwame Owino who called the housing fund an outright bad idea.

As the economist went on about his case against the fund, the PS was sitting still in the studio arms-crossed, nodding and smiling this time.

Twitter user @gabrieloguda then marvelled at how Owino was “wiping the floor” with the PS, to which Hinga replied: “At least jana I didn’t sweat that much, but now I’m in trouble with my doctor who tells me that Sweating is very healthy and physiological.”

At least jana I didn’t sweat that much 😊, but now I’m in trouble with my doctor who tells me that Sweating is very healthy and physiological.

Another user, @KiproMw, also jokingly warned the PS to be very careful that the fund, if passed by parliament, is not laden by a scandal and soil his name.

“Make sure it works ama Ponzi scheme hapa Kenya will be known as Hinga Scheme ama ku chapa mtu Hinga,” he tweeted the PS, who responded with face-with-tears-of-joy emojis.

During last month’s presser, Hinga apologised for being clumsy, saying "Unaona ata vile nimesweat... Sorry, I'm normally very animated."

The proposed housing fund wants employees to pay three per cent of their monthly salaries to support President William Ruto’s ambitious plan to provide affordable housing to Kenyans.

But it has been met with opposition from a section of Kenyans, with some calling for the levy to be made a voluntary contribution.

Analysts have also criticised the government's plan saying the proposed taxes on housing would be hard to implement given that the first one failed and also considering the hard economic times that Kenyans are in.