'Ganja President' Wajackoyah: My priorities are bhang and snake farming
Roots Party of Kenya leader Prof George Wajakoyah in court on May 18, 2022.
Presidential aspirant George Luchiri Wajackoyah, 61, has kicked off his Campaigns on a 'high' note promising corrupt judicial officers that he will hang them.
Besides relocating the capital city from Nairobi to North Eastern, the Roots Party aspirant said he will also suspend the constitution for six months (which is tantamount to executing an own coup against his government) so as to launch a conversation with Kenyans on how to entrench the death penalty in the laws of the land as well as legalise industrial marijuana.
"Judiciary is one of the biggest stumbling block in realising aspirations of a prosperous nation. I will adopt a style whereby if you suspect yourself to be corrupt, we encourage you to kill yourself or if we try you and you are convicted, you be killed," he said.
He said the ideality of moving the capital to say, Isiolo will open up the northern frontiers as administrative capital, freeing Nairobi to be an industrial hub.
Saying "I am not all that stupid," Wajackoyah dismissed the motion that he is a joker and a nuisance contestant, saying that "those discriminatory traits are so irking."
He took issue with the Infotrak pollster results released on Wednesday showing his competitors-- Raila Odinga and Dr William Ruto-- as the only serious candidates, ignoring him and Mwaure Waihiga by according them no rating.
"I don't like that company and the first thing that I will do upon assuming office is to investigate it...alongside any other foreign owned company engaging in acts that reek of unethical practices," he said.
He said such companies will be kicked out of the country if investigated and connoted by law to have acted at criss purpose with the expectations of sound practice.
Wajackoyah, who was accompanied on Citizen TV by his 35 year old running mate--Justina Wangui Wamae said on July 2, they will be releasing their 12-point manifesto to drive their state house bid.
She said she does not smoke bhang "despite our ticket being widely accused of exhibiting signs of its users."
Mr Wajackoyah, who is battling for the State House with Deputy President William Ruto of Kenya Kwanza, Raila Odinga of Azimio la Umoja One Kenya and David Mwaure Waihiga Agano Party, says introducing industrial hemp will help pay off the debt.
In an interview on Wednesday night on Citizen TV, Mr Wajackoyah argued that if Kenyans are allowed to grow bhang for export, that would likely increase money circulation in the economy, claiming that a sack can be sold for $3.2 million.
"The solution is growing marijuana, which will enable this country to [pay its] outstanding debts. Have enough money, have enough money for all Kenyans. And if one sack of marijuana is $3.2 million, if you convert that into Kenyan currencies, it is a lot," he said.
He said there should be no worries about finding a market for the marijuana.
"We are going to export it, not import it. We're going to grow it and export it. I'm just back from the United States and Canada during my research and trust me, there are so many companies … telling me please we have the market ready here in Canada," he said.
He said marijuana, which he claimed he has never smoked, remains the country's gold that needs to be exploited to catalyse the nation's economic growth.
Mr Wajackoyah also said farming snakes will help supply venom for the manufacture of medicines and for export.
"A lot of people are bitten by snakes in this country and we have to wait for snake doses from outside the country through pharmaceutical corporations,” he said, adding that one way of paying off the national debt “more so those of Chinese is by extracting snake venoms for them".
On devolution, Mr Wajackoyah's running mate Justina Wamae said their administration would suspend the Constitution to allow the reorganisation of counties into the previous eight provinces for efficiency and effective administration.
"The counties will organise themselves into the eight former provinces. But what we are saying [is that] those counties … decide how they're going to appropriate their revenue but they keep their money and they plan for it because they only give us 10 percent for administrative purposes," Ms Wamae said.
She said they would focus on what she described as “industrial hemp”, claiming that it is the only solution to lowering taxes and providing free quality healthcare.
"We also have Roots Care because we are going to give Kenyans free medical services. We are also going to create more employment opportunities," she said.
Citing countries without written constitutions, Mr Wajackoyah took a jab at the Judiciary, saying that it is the biggest impediment in Kenya’s democratic growth.
"We have countries like Israel, New Zealand, Canada and the United Kingdom which don't have written constitutions. They welcome conventions,” he said.
He added: [In Kenya the] big stumbling block to democracy is corrupt judges and that is why we will ask Kenyans if it is necessary to continue with this kind of system."
He said that if is elected President, he will not be a dictator but he will rule with iron fist to fight corruption, adding that the death penalty would be introduced through a constitutional review to deal with this menace.
"In China, you're tried then hanged and in Europe, you go to jail but in Kenya, a corrupt person goes to Parliament," he said.
Wading into the mitumba (second-hand clothes) issue, he said Kenyans should be given a chance to choose what they want and banning used items is not the answer.
Meanwhile, he asked the church to desist from judging him, saying he is not spoiling children by seeking to legalise marijuana and challenging the clergy to look at the benefits of this plant.
He also promised that his administration would look into the welfare of police officers, arguing that they have been neglected. He also said he would abolish police uniforms.
"Both police constable and inspector today who got loans from Helb [earn] two different salaries and they are graduates. Both of them have a duty … to repay the loan. No one in this country looks at their welfare," Mr Wajackoyah said.
