President William Ruto seemingly gets a new name from Kenyans every three months.

The president has earned over five new nicknames in three years of his regime.

These nicknames came as taunts to him, but in his wisdom, he has embraced them.

In this article, features those names and how they came about.

Ruto earned the nickname Zakayo in 2023, at the time when ODM leader Raila Odinga mobilised Kenyans and his Azimio faction to protest against the high cost of living, which followed the government's introduction of a series of tax austerity measures.

Kenyans likened him to the Biblical Zacchaeus, the tax collector, who was visited by Jesus.

The message was Zakayo shuka (Zacchaeus come down), to implore the president to reduce the taxes on basic sectors.

In March 2025, Kenyans nicknamed President Ruto El Chapo after he promised to help Nairobi county acquire a chapati-making machine capable of producing one million chapatis a day, as part of the Dishi Na County programme.

The comment quickly sparked memes featuring chapatis in various places, humorously suggesting that Nairobi would be filled with the meal.

However, Ruto later embraced the nickname during a visit to Umoja 1 Primary School.

Kasongo is the title of a Congolese song which talks about abandonment and heartbreak.

The song became famous on TikTok in 2024 after a voice went viral singing the song most hilariously.

It impressed Kenyans, who later picked it and baptised their president with it.

One funny nickname for President Ruto is Kaunda Uongoman.

The first part refers to his fondness for the Kaunda suit, a safari jacket with matching trousers, while Uongoman is a play on the Kiswahili word uongo, meaning "lies."

Some Kenyans have also nicknamed the president Nabii. Nabii is a Kiswahili word for a prophet.

Ruto is a staunch Christian who never misses church services. He also likes quoting Bible verses. It is on this ground that Kenyans branded him Nabii.

The nicknames keep coming, with the latest one being Wantam, a recently coined name by the opposition in the spirit of demanding that Ruto serve only one term as the president of Kenya.

Previously, the head of state subtly expressed his displeasure with the constant stream of nicknames.

At a public rally in Lang'ata on Thursday, March 13, Ruto questioned why Kenyans persist in giving him new nicknames.

He joked that they always come up with a new one whenever possible.

He pointed out that they initially called him a hustler, then a survivor, followed by Zakayo, and finally Kasongo.

Ruto playfully asked when Kenyans would stop giving him new names, to which the crowd responded that they would cease.

Source: TUKO.co.ke