What did Mammito say about Ruto? Aptly titled Waraka wa Zakayo, Mammito called out Ruto for burdening Kenyans with taxes. The parody was sampled from Bahati Bukuku’s hit song Waraka wa Amani. Personifying the character of Truphena Mzalendo, Mammito lamented that debt and graft were compounded by the revelation by Uhuru Kenyatta in 2021 that the country loses KSh2 billion every day to corruption. “Waraka wa Zakayo ulianza kwenye foleni ule wa kupiga kura za Tharaka Nithi. Waraka huo umejawa na madeni. Jameni twapoteza KSh2 billion kila siku na tukiuliza wanasema wako kortini waki investigate hayo mambo ya KSh2 billion. Eti wana investigate pesa zetu zimekwenda wapi na wao ndio wanatuibia/Wanatumaliza,” lamented Mammito. She pointed out that the consequence of it was rising cost of living, inflation and the depreciation of the Kenyan shilling against the dollar. “Angalia dollar ni KSh150, hiyo siku nyingine itakuwa KSh200 na siku nyingine KSh300. Jameni tutakuwa kama Tanzania na Uganda; mapesa mengi na hakuna chochote. Unajiambia uko na millioni kwenye benki kumbe ni KSh10,000 pesa za kitambo. Jameni dollar na mafuta inapanda,” sang Mammito. Businesswoman Anne Njoroge, who has been linked to the controversial KSh17 billion oil shipment, did not escape Mammito’s claw. “Angalia yule mama wa KSh17 billion, ata sijui nianzie wapi jameni.” According to Mammito, Ruto has become a master of false promises and seems to have abandoned the pledges he made on the campaign trail ahead of the August 2022 elections. Of particular, the comedian noted, the president was still globetrotting despite pledging to cut down on foreign trips after backlash over government spending. Kenyans reacted by writing: @kay_koki_njenga: “Thank you for singing this. We are really suffering.” @fri_dah91: “Kenyans are unafraid.” @obilajasca: “I don’t know whether to laugh or cry.” What did Ruto say about Zakayo nickname? Ruto embraced the nickname in May 2023. Kenyans christened him after the Biblical tax collector for his tax regime. The president said he had no qualms about being called Zakayo.
BY William Osoro