Christina Shusho's upcoming song 'Zakayo' sparks excitement on Kenyan internet

Shusho, whose popularity in Kenya blew up massively towards the end of 2023, owing to her 2021 hit 'Shusha Nyavu', has now revealed that she has an upcoming song titled 'Zakayo'.

Soon after she made the announcement, Kenyans erupted into a sort of cheeky jubilation given the name 'Zakayo' has gained popularity in the country over the last year.

Netizens baptised President William Ruto 'Zakayo', given his administration's taxation policies. 

The name is from the diminutive biblical tax collector Zacchaeus (named Zakayo in Swahili) who climbed a tree in order to catch a glimpse of Jesus Christ. 

The President himself, in various public forums has owned up to the nickname, insisting that he would push for the 'right thing' despite the name calling.

"That is why I don’t mind people calling me names. You see when you are doing the right thing, your concise is clear. I will do the right thing for our country irrespective of what names people call me, including Zakayo," he said back in February.

Whilst she did not specifically clarify the basis of her new song, or the inspiration behind the title, Kenyans still welcomed it wholeheartedly, seeing it as yet another opportunity to call out the President and to remind him to 'climb down'.

On X, where Shusho even shared a snippet of the song, Kenyans asked her to rush the release, some even calling it the new 'Kenyan anthem'. 

"Looks like Shusho has cracked the code to win the Kenyan fanbase. I don't know who her musical adviser her but that guy is overworking!" someone said.

Social commentator Gabriel Oguda joined the glee party too, saying, "Baaas. Sasa ni wewe ndio utatupeleka Canaan. Run it!" 

Business reporter Julians Amboko gave it a business spin saying, "Whether by design or chance, this song is being released just about the time Finance Bill 2024 should be out (April 30th is the sunset date by law)..."

On his part, Kamau Peters said, "Yaani even Shusho is dropping a diss track? 2024 did not come to play! But let's hope she can take some lessons from Eric Wainaina on how to handle the authorities - that is, if they come for her."

Already, the tweet announcing the new song has been viewed close to 500,000 times and has garnered over 6.8k 'Likes' and close to a thousand comments.

To put that into perspective, Shusho's last five tweets (before the Zakayo announcement) have been cumulatively viewed merely 30,000 times.

Part of the shared snippet of the song goes: "Palikuwa na mtu mmoja, jina lake Zakayo... Mkubwa kawatoza ushuru naye ni tajiri... Alitafuta kumuona Yesu... Asiweze kwa sababu ya umati wa watu... "