George Wajackoyah, the presidential candidate of the Roots Party, has retaliated against the clergy for allegedly attempting to dissuade Kenyans from supporting his campaign, accusing them of being contaminated by scandals.
Prof. Wajackoyah, who has focused his campaign on the legalization of bhang and subsequent commercial production of the herb, a move the church has condemned as encouraging immorality and illegalities, has also urged his supporters to boycott churches that reject his effort until they change their minds.
The ‘ganja president,’ speaking outside Kenya Wildlife Service headquarters, where he was supposed to see the awarding of licenses for snake farming, said the clergy had failed to read his manifesto and could not claim to advise him how to run his business.
“Some bishops have been found in bushes sleeping recklessly, and instead of facing judgement, they are here trying to incite Kenyans. They have not read our manifesto. They only went straight into smoking of marijuana. Tell those men of God that it is time they realize that Kenya doesn’t belong to them,” Prof Wajackoyah said.
He urged the church to instead work hard at finding jobs for the youth, even as he accused them of receiving proceeds of corruption. He also warned the church to be careful lest the young rebel against them.
“These churches don’t provide jobs for the youth, and Instead of offering a place to sleep for the homeless and the poor, they are here telling Professor Wajackoyah that they denounce him. Let the church know that it has a duty to pray for people like me, so that if I’m insane, I can become sane. But they have no right to lecture me about what the Kenyan needs are,” he said.
“I am speaking about the few pastors. The Catholic Church has done very well in this country. It has tried to eradicate poverty, and to educate. But if they start this campaign of discrediting Wajackoyah, I want all Kenyans who listen to us and want to chart our future to boycott those churches until they say otherwise,” he added.
His running mate, Justina Wangui emphasised that Roots Party focuses on being an exporting hub, to earn the country more income.
The response came just a day after Catholic Bishops asked Kenyans to ignore Wajackoyah and his bhang manifesto, saying that Kenyans need to keep away from “immoral and unethical manifestos which will break the social fabric of the country.”
“Unethical manifestos contained among others, liberalization and promotion of drug use,” said Nyeri Archbishop Anthony Muheria on Sunday.
“Let us keep this in mind that for a nation to thrive, it must be founded on ethical and moral grounds,” he said, adding that Kenyans should interrogate each and every leader by looking at their earlier statements and what they stand for.”
Prof Wajackoyah has been vocal about his intentions to legalize marijuana and encourage snake farming for export, which he says will help pay Kenya’s debts.
Following his talks with Kenya Wildlife Service, it is expected that farmers who have already applied for licenses to carry out snake farming will obtain their licenses during the course of the week.
Some of them include the Chairperson of Afro Sayari Grounds and Events, Mr James Gitundu and his counterpart, John Muranda, who is the Marketing Director of the recreational center.
Once licensed, they expect to put arrangements in place to set up a snake park, from where they will extract venom, and educate Kenyans about importance of snake venom.
