Kenya's President William Ruto has been dubbed 'Kasongo', but he is gracefully embracing the nickname handed to him by critics on social media.
"There are people online who don't want us to say much about government programmes. They just want to continue saying 'there is no work being done by government'. They want to incite, and tell false stories, blaming 'Kasongo', 'Zakayo', I don't know.
"It is okay to call me 'Kasongo'. It is a good song, loved by many people. So, let's continue with the 'Kasongo' nickname. Calling me 'Zakayo' (Biblical Zacchaeus) is also not bad, because I am collecting taxes to take Kenya forward. I'm okay with the nicknames," Ruto said last week at a funeral service in Western Kenya.
His remarks on the nickname lightened the mood at the funeral as mourners burst into laughter at the president's now unofficial name.
Tax hikes
On social media platforms, mainly X network and TikTok, Kenyans have been referring to the president either as "Kasongo" or "Zakayo".
President Ruto has come out to publicly embrace both nicknames.
The story of "Zakayo" refers to the Biblical tax collector, Zacchaeus, whose name in Swahili is translated as Zakayo. Swahili is one of Kenya's national languages.
When President Ruto's government came to power in September 2022, he increased existing taxes and introduced new ones. The introduction of more taxes, including housing levy, earned him the nickname "Zakayo".
But, as thrill around "Zakayo" nickname gradually faded, Kenyans quickly introduced "Kasongo" to turbocharge the momentum. It is not clearly known how social media users settled on "Kasongo" nickname.
However, even before its rollout, Kenyans were using video memes, with the song titled "Kasongo" accompanying the funny videos.
The videos would often show a subject in difficult situations, where they are about to make a wrong decision.
President's attention
And as the memes circulated, Ruto's "Kasongo" nickname was coined. The name's widespread use recently caught the president's attention.
On New Year's Eve, he was recorded on video dancing to the song "Kasongo" at state lodge in Kenya's western county of Kisii.
But, what exactly is the story behind "Kasongo" song? It was released in 1977 by a then-popular band called Super Mazembe. The group comprised about 13 members, with almost all but one now deceased.
Veteran guitarist, Loboko Pasi, is said to be Super Mazembe's only surviving member. The band — initially called Super Vox — was founded in the Democratic Republic of Congo in the late 1960s.
The musical group, thereafter, moved to Zambia, and then to Kenya in the mid-1970s. In Kenya, it changed its name to Orchestra Super Mazembe, to mean "the band of earth movers."
The band's main language was Congolese Lingala, though it had also recorded songs in Bemba language, which is spoken in northeastern Zambia. Swahili, which is widely spoken in East Africa, was also the band's other major language. One of Super Mazembe's original members was called Kasongo Songo Ley.
Husband's absence
In 1977, the musical group released the hit song "Kasongo". In the song produced in Lingala language, a woman urges her husband, called Kasongo, to return home after long absence.
The wife says: "Kasongo, my husband, I am hurting. Please, return home. My eyes are glued on the road, hoping to see you walking home. The children are asking: 'Where is our father?' What should I tell them? Why are you making me restless?" After the song's release, a new member called Kasongo wa Kanema joined the band a year later — in 1978.
Kasongo wa Kanema died in Kenya's capital Nairobi in April 2020 at the age of 73. Almost all Super Mazembe deceased members were buried in Nairobi's Lang'ata Cemetery.
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