Roots Party Presidential candidate Professor George Luchiri Wajackoyah is, without a doubt, the third force in the current political matrix in Kenya concerning the August 9th general elections.
Wajackoyah has fashioned himself as a Rastafarian, maintaining a bushy beard, and dresses like a reggae musician. Looking at him, one would be forgiven to think he’s a member of Bob Marley and the Wailers crew, without dreadlocks, although, it’s not far-fetched to think he’d spot dreads at some point during the ongoing campaigns.
The widely learned professor of law has taken the political landscape by storm, garnering the attention of youngsters and a few adults, thanks to the excitement caused by his message, flamboyant character, and charisma.
The former police officer and National Intelligence spy background story are that of rising from grass to grace. However, Wajackoyah says he enlisted in the police for expediency. His grades could not see him to university, and he opted to land in the police squad, albeit temporarily.
His first station was at Manyani Police Station. He was later transferred to Kasarani before joining the National Intelligence Service (NIS).
“I used the salary to pay for my school fees even though I lived a complicated and lonely life, but the skills I gained as a street boy and as police helped me. As a result, I became a survivor and very strong,” Wajackoyah explained.
When Dr. Robert Ouko, Kenya’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, was assassinated, Wajackoyah was sucked into the investigations team to unravel the circumstances around the minister’s death.
“When it happened, we found out many things that some people wanted us to cover, but because of the technical aspect, we could not translate what was not there but through the skills and the listening devices,” he said in a recent media interview.
As a result of failure to cooperate with the state, the Roots Party of Kenya leader says he was detained but was rescued by the US Embassy, which organized for him to flee the country.
He arrived in the UK and changed his name to George Walker for security reasons and said he later became a grave digger and used the income from the hustle to further his studies.
“I used the salary to pay for my school fees even though I lived a complicated and lonely life, but the skills I gained as a street boy and as police helped me. As a result, I became a survivor and very strong,” Wajackoyah explained.
He has flown in international airspace and has a dream of being Kenya’s fifth president. All systems are playing ball, and the new sensation– who dons his red and blue signature durags; spectacles and two wrist watches; and a bushy beard, has also adopted the adjective “the fifth,” perhaps to give his candidature an impetus. His main competitors: Raila Odinga and William Ruto, are fondly referred to as “the fifth” by their supporters– who hope they become the fifth president.
The 61-year-old is banking on marijuana, the controversial drug, to revive the ailing Kenyan economy, which prides itself on being East Africa’s economic powerhouse. He argues that the drug is a money maker and can potentially offset Kenya’s debt entirely within a short time.
“Israel passed over to Uganda and made an agreement with the Ugandan government to grow marijuana. They’re currently growing marijuana on 152,000 acres. Rwanda has legalized; Zimbabwe just legalized the other day; the president of Malawi is now asking Malawians to uproot tobacco to grow marijuana; South Africa did it, and Morocco is doing it – the market is ready and available,” said Wajackoyah.
His critics say this ideology is misplaced, owing to the adverse effects that the users of bhang have manifested in society. Ms. Mbula, a teacher in charge of the counseling department in one of the public secondary schools in Mombasa, says, “I hope that doesn’t happen.”
“Bhang is a dream killer. I handle several cases of violence, sex abuse, and many other effects among our students, and almost all of them come about due to smoking bhang. No parent would wish that to happen in this country,” Mbula said.
Professor says all drugs are harmful when abused, and no one should single out bhang alone. He still maintains his administration will plant marijuana along the major highways and city centers- purely for sale.
SNAKE FARM AS A WAY TO BOOST THE ECONOMY
Besides an economy pegged at marijuana, Prof Wajackoyah also sees great potential in snakes and has promised to leverage on the serpents to build the country once he wins the presidency.
Many Kenyans consider snakes evil and scary, a view that primarily stems from the Biblical story of Adam and Eve where the devil took the form of a snake and deceived Eve into sinning against God. By invoking snakes, the Wajackoya-Wambui ticket may have shot themselves on the foot, but they’re soldiering on.
“A lot of people are bitten by snakes in this country and have to wait for antidotes from abroad through pharmaceutical corporations. We have too many snakes in this country. We’ll extract poison for the manufacture of anti-venom and give the rest of the snake products for consumption to offset the debt,” said Wajackoyah.
He has promised to launch his manifesto on July 2nd. Among the critical areas of focus is having a four-day work week with a 24hr working economy. Workers shall have an eight-hour shift and get paid every two weeks.
Notably, Wajackoyah has promised hell to anyone who will be found guilty of corruption and stealing public resources. Justina Wambui, Wajackoyah’s running mate, has also thrown weight behind the issue.
“We want to instill the fear that public resources must be respected. When people steal from Kenyans, they steal their visions, aspirations, and healthcare. They do not care about the future of Kenyans,” Wambui said.
ON SUFFERING JOURNALISTS
Wajackoyah laments that Kenya undervalues the police service and the journalists, who he said play a significant role in the nation’s development but are poorly compensated.
“The members of the fourth estate, who are also very minimally paid in this country, yet they do a very big task. They are not even given equipment. You’ll find journalists in a matatu with cameras going to cover somewhere at their own expense. They will also be paid and become stakeholders,” Wajackoya said.
Wajackoyah has also promised to strengthen devolution by creating regional governments, in addition to county governments. He envisions provincial governments with parliaments to fastrack development.
Wajackoyah’s sensation has won him many supporters, with a section of Kenyans seeing him as a savior in time of need.
Maryanne Zabibu says the Roots Party leader is the panacea for Kenya’s problems.
“He has real solutions to problems facing Kenyans and one who bears the light of hope for us as Kenyans. Kenyans should heed his awakening call as he is the only patriot who has the capacity and will of reviving the already struggling economy,” Zabibu said.
Mutahi Ngunyi, a famous political analyst in Kenya, termed the professor a “Voice to the dark soul of Kenyans.” The analyst, a strong supporter of Raila Odinga, says that were it not for Odinga, he could have voted for Prof Wajackoyah.
“He is definitely not a waste to our National imagination,” Ngunyi said.