Kasongo Yeye: Kenyans have a new nickname for the President and it's catching up fast

The nicknames, which range from quirky to downright hilarious, are coined by everyday folk across the internet - some, like 'Zakayo', could easily have been coined by the least creative chap armed with just a mobile device and some data bundles.

While the President has appeared to embrace some of the less offensive sobriquets, he has calculatedly stayed away from commenting on some which do not necessarily flatter him or gratify his office.

Still, Kenyans, in their intemperate notoriety, continue to conjure up new nicknames each week. While some stick, some just fall off the roadside.

The latest moniker the internet, especially the cheeky characters on X, have branded the President is 'Kasongo', a name derived from a popular Rhumba song whose corrupted version has recently swept the Kenyan internet.

Before the nickname landed on the Head of State, it had already found a life of its own on Kenya's Tiktok corridors before inevitably making its way to X, where it was welcomed uproariously and converted into a William Ruto denomination.

As of Tuesday, November 26, the sound 'Kasongo Yeye' had been used over 164,000 times by Kenyans on Tiktok. But where did it all start?

The sound became popular after Ugandan pastor Aloysius Bujingo sang the song to his congregants at House of Prayer Ministries in Makerere. 

The pastor is widely believed to have used the classic lyrics to urge lost congregants to make their way back to the Lord.

His hysterically hilarious voice, which breaks intermittently as he attempts to hum the tune, immediately captured the internet's attention, becoming an overnight sensation and shooting through the TikTok roof.

While attempting to keep up with the original lyrics, the Pastor's version veers off into something like: "Kasongo Yeye, Mumbali Manga... Kasongo Mbona wewo... Songa libala yoooh!"

Kenyans have now been using the viral sound to provide an audio-visual mimicry of President Ruto's missteps and governance errors.

The trend got even more flammable after popular X user Yoko Kibet kicked off a cartoon campaign which saw him churn out hundreds of illustrations which depicted the President in silhouette form as he engaged in various activities synonymous with his unpopular policies.

The artistic depictions show President Ruto in a slew of ventures - striking deals with international bodies, talking to IMF officials, chatting up the outgoing US Ambassador Meg Whitman, receiving loans, fraternizing with Raila Odinga and, at times, basking atop a tree as a crowd of Kenyans heckle him from the ground.

As the silhouettes gained massive popularity, other Kenyans started adding the viral 'Kasongo Yeye' tune to the President's videos - an attempt to show the endless debacles in the President's office.

As the heat became too much to handle, some communication officials in the Office of the President scrambled to counter the negative narrative eating up the President's image, ultimately coming up with their own version of cartoon-style drawings to parrot the many things Ruto had been able to achieve over the last two years.

Still, the attempt failed to impress Kenyans with many dismissing it as a futile attempt to rescue an image already mercilessly battered.

With fresh revelations stating that the President's men attempted, albeit unsuccessfully, to procure an international software company to help polish his online appeal, the nickname 'Kasongo Yeye' has found even more life, as more and more Kenyans drag the Head of State for what now appears to be a helplessly long series of presidential blunders.

Sung in Lingala, 'Kasongo''s lyrics revolve around a woman calling out to her husband, Kassongo, pleading for his return to their marriage.

Part of the chorus goes: "Kasongo ye ye ee, mobali na ngai" (Kasongo, my husband)... "Kasongo nga nawe oo, zonga libala ee" (Kasongo, I am dying, come back to the marriage).

The classic hit was recorded and performed by Super Orchestra Mazembe, a popular band known for their infectious Soukous music. 

The band originated from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC ) but later moved to Nairobi in 1974 changing their name from Super Vox. Their name translates to ‘giant earth movers. ‘ 

Some of the group’s hit songs include Shauri Yako, Bwana Nipe Pesa and Samba.