By Harriet Ogayo
The Hustler Fund is available to all Kenyans aged and above 18 with a mobile money account and a national ID.
A screenshot of a text message shared on Facebook claiming that Kenyans who voted for Azimio, an opposition political alliance, cannot access Hustler Fund is FALSE.
The text accompanying the screenshot is in Swahili and translates to; “Have you been given the hustle fund or have you been denied (sic).”
The post was shared on 30 November 2022 hours after President William Ruto launched the Hustler Fund and shared the USSD code for the disbursement of the loans.
The screenshot has also been shared here, here and here.
The Hustler Fund was one of Ruto’s key campaign promises (min 40:30) in his manifesto under the Kenya Kwanza coalition banner in the lead-up to the 9 August 2022 general elections.
While the message implies that the user was unable to access the funds for voting for Azimio, the president said at the fund’s launch that it was non-partisan.
“All these plans are for the benefit of all Kenyans without taking into consideration who voted for which side,” Ruto said during the launch.
Further, on dialling the USSD code *254#, users can view their eligibility to access the fund by following a few prompts. According to the pop-up message, the fund is available to any Kenyan over the age of 18 with a registered mobile money account and a Kenyan ID.
PesaCheck has looked into a screenshot of a text message shared on Facebook claiming that people who voted for Azimio cannot access the Hustler Fund and found it to be FALSE.
This post is part of an ongoing series of PesaCheck fact-checks examining content marked as potential misinformation on Facebook and other social media platforms.
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