President William Ruto has opened up about being nicknamed ‘Zakayo’ by Kenyans over his tax drives aimed at collecting more taxes from Kenyans.
Ruto was responding to KRA staff members who asked for a tax collectors’ day to be held at the State House.
“Since I have already been referred to as Zakayo in some areas, maybe we will have a tax collectors day, that’s a good proposal and I will consider it,” Ruto said.
Previously, the President earned the nickname Zakayo from Kenyans over his ambitions to collect more taxes.
Zakayo in the Bible
Zakayo, the Swahili version of Zacchaeus, is a Biblical character who was a chief tax collector living in Jericho during the reign of the Roman Empire as the world’s superpower.
According to the Biblical story, after meeting Jesus, Zacchaeus promised to give half of his wealth to the poor and return four times any possession he had acquired illegally.
“Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount,” the Bible quotes him according to the New International Version in Luke 19:8.
He was unpopular with the people and when Jesus visited him, the Jews accused him (Jesus) of dining with a “sinner”.
