• Vying for a seat in just his area code is 'being selfish'
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Having been raised in Kibra, rapper Octopizzo says he has not seen any candidate with the potential for MP in the upcoming by-election.
Speaking to Word Is on Tuesday, he said he doesn't have a preferred candidate, and has bigger ambitions himself.
"My preferred candidate would still be the late Ken Okoth any day because I worked so closely with him, he supported art and music," he said.
"It is really hard right now to know what they will do for Kibra because it is like they are gambling on tribal stuff. Nobody who is vying has met me and asked me to meet them with the youths and decide what to do for them. Okoth met me and asked me to go with youth representatives to his office so they could talk about what they wanted to be done for them."
On whether he would vie for the seat, Octopizzo said he would be selfish if he runs for a "small position" like MP. "I will vie for a presidential position when the right time comes because I would want to represent the youth in this country, not just Kibra," he said.
"I have somebody in Turkana who looks up to me and they need change. In Lamu and any other place in Kenya, vying for a seat in just my area code is being selfish because there are youths who are going through stuff and they want to be helped."
He said if he becomes the President, the first bill he will pass will be to legalise marijuana because people are abusing it instead of using it for medicinal purposes. "This will help in controlling the amount at which it is being consumed, although people don't want to talk about the values of the herb," he said.
The rapper called out celebrities-turned-politicians for using their fame to achieve their political ambitions.
Octopizzo said Kenyan politics is no longer about being the best for the people but rather being popular.
"People like Dagoretti MP, John Kiarie, Starehe MP Jaguar are just politicians because they were popular and they ended up turning their fans into voters and using that as a way of campaigning," he said.
Octopizzo says the best leader is one who comes from nowhere and lays out their manifesto to the people, who then decide whether he is the best.
"Be a leader and not a celebrity. People confuse celebrity and leadership, which are two different things. Just because you are popular doesn't mean you can lead people," he said.
"People need to have good leadership, they don't care about what you do."