Since Prof George Wajackoyah, aka Ganja President, was cleared to run for the highest office in the land, he has become a sensation in the political arena.
A man who started out like a joker has become a household name in Kenyan politics. You cannot discuss politics without mentioning the name of Wajackoyah.
He is popular among the youth because he has promised to end their hopelessness and renew their hope as the current ugly situation is unsustainable.
Wajackoya’s campaign strategy is one of the most captivating compared to the other three presidential candidates. The man has promised to legalise weed and use its proceeds to settle the ballooning national debt.
According to Wajackoyah, a country that swims in corruption, insecurity and incompetence cannot expect to become prosperous. He says anything contrary to accountability is an exercise in futility. He promises to suspend the Constitution and rule by the fist until corruption is eradicated.
Many Kenyans seem to be buying his message. If you follow public conversations keenly, Kenyans are referring to Wajackoyah as The Fifth.
Recently, I took time to interact with Rastafarians in Nairobi to seek their opinion of Wajackoyah. I visited Mwiki in Kasarani, Githurai, Dandora and Kayole. What they told me was shocking.
I discovered they have a lot of love for the Ganja President. Despite ganja being outlawed, statistics show that more than 2 million people, including prominent ones, smoke it in private.
According to ganja lovers, Wajackoyah’s resilience and determination to run for president is a glad tiding to them and all Kenyans, his admirers and foes alike. They said they are a movement whose journey has been very rough and odious because previous administrations never wanted to listen to them or address their grievances.
In law enforcement parlance, there is something called deliberate indifference. This is criminal neglect of the vulnerable members of society like the Rastafarians. They told me the previous administrations are guilty of the same criminal negligence against them. They said with Wajackoyah as their President, they can see light at the end of their dark tunnel. His cool composure and antecedents give them hope.
Wajackoyah has received clean bills of health and character by groups of voters, including Rastafarians, ganja smokers, atheists, plebeians and most of the undecided voters, among others. From the look of things, he might garner close to a million votes.
Weed smokers say their president Wajackoyah is the right man for a nation that has been castrated by corruption, hedonism, nepotism and graft. Those who believe in him say unlike the previous administrations, his government will work for the people and not against them.
Wajackoyah’s entry into the race might change the matrix. The rate at which Wajackoyah is gaining supporters signposts to the fact that this country might have its first presidential election run-off. If he garners 800,000 to 1 million votes, for instance, chances are that he might force a run-off between Azimio presidential candidate Raila Odinga and UDA's William Ruto.
Pundits say Wajackoyah has eaten into Ruto’s strongholds. In case of a run-off, Raila stands to benefit for obvious reasons that Wajackoyah has been putting in a good word for the ODM leader in press conferences and media interviews.
Wajackoyah has been quoted saying how Raila’s father Jaramogi Oginga Odinga saved his life when he was investigating the murder of Foreign Affairs minister Robert Ouko. He always speaks well of Raila. No one has confirmed his story yet.
Wajackoyah has never attacked Raila but he always attacks Ruto’s bottom-up economic model. The attacks are telling. These people are all rivals but Wajackoyah chooses to attack Ruto. It means they know each other.
If we go to a run-off, Wajackoyah might strike a deal with Raila and ask his supporters to vote for the ODM leader. Bhang is an outlawed narcotic in Kenya. Anyone using or promoting it should face the full force of the law. How come Wajackoyah is promoting it yet the government is silent?
What if it were Ruto preaching the weed gospel, would the government ignore it? The silence on Wajackoyah’s weed gospel by the state is telling. It means someone somewhere knows something that the rest of us don’t. For Wajackoyah to promote marijuana unchallenged, it means he has the blessing of the same state that supports Raila.
The writer sells bananas in the streets of Kisii town. [email protected]
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