How ‘roots master’ Wajackoyah is changing the political game

When the legendary South African reggae artiste Lucky Dube took the entertainment scene by storm with his double-platinum album ‘Prisoner’ in the ‘90s, George Wajackoyah was studying law in the UK, far removed from local politics.

But three decades later, Prof Wajackoyah is causing a sensation in local politics with his Roots Party that draws heavily from Rastafarianism and reggae music, particularly the ever-green song ‘Nobody can stop reggae’.

Players in the entertainment industry in the four corners of the nation have been tripping over each other to host the roots master in their bars, restaurants and clubs as presidential campaigns enter the homestretch.

The peculiarity of Prof Wajackoyah’s bid has excited the youth across the country, who sing along in his charged rallies irrespective of their ethnic backgrounds. It’s a breath of fresh air into the local political landscape.

Reggae music and youth

Reggae music has over the decades been associated with the youth as it’s seen as rebellious and anti-establishment. Rastafarianism preaches against social and economic injustice, which by far affects more young people.

“We’ve been well received by ‘sufferers’ and we will be landing right where you are to give you hope. Rastafarians shall never walk neither suffer while alone since Jah has blessed them with one of their own, who is coming to deal with all their problems and liberate them from pain,” said Prof Wajackoyah in Sagana town, Kirinyaga County, on Tuesday.

“We’ll come to your towns and bring houses down as we party and share the good moments that our creator has given us as we also articulate on how we will use marijuana and snake farming to raise the much needed capital to offset our debts and put the rest in our pockets,” he added.

Reggae show

On Sunday night, he was at Embu’s Chonga Chonga Oldskul Festival and tomorrow (Friday), he will be at Joy Greens in Nyeri County for a reggae show where the entry fee will be Sh300.

Prof Wajackoyah’s running mate, Justina Wangui, took her campaigns to Gichichio TV that broadcasts in Gikuyu language and promised “uncensored, high octave and revolutionary campaigns where we will visit you where you cool off your evening as you ponder on how your day was”.

“We’ll break the barriers of hypocrisy, moral high priests’ censorship and those of cultural purists to make this vote-hunt a one happy stress-free drive. You never know, we can even end up discovering more than we bargained for. We might even have a new religion composed of economically liberated and conscious faithful,” she said.

“We will congregate to chat across the nation as we dance away our worries.”

Mt Kenya Hospitality Sector Stakeholders Union chairman Kabiru Kanene said event organisers and promoters are interested in Prof Wajackoyah and “have started seeking our partnerships to host the presidential aspirant in our establishments”.

“Promoters will take 70 per cent of the entry fee raised as the host retains 30 per cent and also enjoys increased patrons while Prof Wajackoyah gains a platform to engage the crowds,” said Mr Kanene.

Adopt independent aspirants

Prof Wajackoyah will adopt independent aspirants as his partners and enter into a post-election pact with them to form the government, should he win the election.

He will form a bhang task force that will be chaired by Mr Anthony Karimi, who vied for the Kirinyaga senatorial seat during Jubilee Party primaries, but lost. He’s now an independent candidate.