To reduce government borrowing and promote national development, President William Ruto has insisted that he will not back down from his push for taxes.
During a speech to Kenyan expatriates in Tokyo, Ruto said that Kenya will only be developed by its income and taxes, not by aid or debt.
"If we have to develop our country, Kenyans must roll up their sleeves. Our country is not going to be developed by others, by aid or by debt. It is going to be developed by us. Japan is built by the Japanese using their own taxes. Kenya will be built by Kenyans using our own revenue and taxes," the president told Kenyans in the East Asian country.
Since taking office in September 2022, Ruto has increased several taxes and enacted new ones, drawing criticism from Kenyans who believe he is abandoning his promises during the election.
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Ruto courted voters by running on a platform that supported the rights of the struggling Kenyans, a group he called "hustlers."
"The one thing I have committed myself to do is provide a guarantee that every Kenyan who pays taxes, their money will not be stolen," the president said on Wednesday, promising to ensure the taxes his government is collecting won't be embezzled. We will eventually profit from it as long as we collect our due taxes and utilize them to advance our nation.
Since then, Kenyans have dubbed Ruto "Zakayo," which is Swahili, for the biblical character Zacchaeus, portrayed as a rapacious tax collector who scaled a tree to see Jesus.
They have been urging him to "climb down" in social media posts, alluding to the easing of his government's tax policies, as Jesus reportedly told the tax collector.
However, Ruto stated that he does not mind being called names, claiming he is apparent in his communication and committed to acting in Kenya's best interests.
"What I will not do as president is say there will be free lunch, that the country is going to be developed by borrowing money from other people and that it is going to cost us nothing to develop our country," said Ruto on Wednesday.
"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."
Ruto has previously acknowledged that the taxes are "painful" but worth the sacrifice. During his Jamhuri Day speech on December 12 last year, he said the nation's sacrifices "would make our freedom fighters proud."
