The Roots Party leader wants hemp farming to become a pillar of Kenya’s economy, but his claims about global industries and the crop’s medical uses face questions as he prepares for another presidential contest.
NAIROBI, Kenya – Roots Party leader George Wajackoyah is placing the legalisation and commercial cultivation of bhang back at the centre of his 2027 presidential campaign, arguing that Kenyans failed to appreciate the economic potential of the crop during the last election.
In an interview with a local radio station on Tuesday, November 10, the former presidential candidate said he would seek the presidency again but was holding back his formal announcement as rival political camps continued positioning themselves for the next election.
“I will vie for the presidency next year, but I have not announced yet. I want first people to fight each other…then I come out,” he said.
Wajackoyah rose to national prominence in 2022 with an unconventional manifesto that proposed legalising bhang cultivation, alongside commercial ventures involving snake meat and snake poison.
He argued that the proposals were intended to create new revenue streams, generate employment and transform Kenya’s agricultural sector.
The Roots Party leader now maintains that voters misunderstood his ideas, particularly his proposal to develop industrial hemp into a major commercial crop.
Wajackoyah Says Hemp Could Transform Kenya’s Economy
During the interview, Wajackoyah argued that hemp has applications across several industries, including construction, manufacturing, agriculture and medicine.
He cited Israel, Canada, India and Taiwan as examples of countries he claimed had embraced hemp-based products and industrial applications.
“People didn’t understand that crop [bhang] has brought a lot of economic changes in the world,” he said.
He further claimed that hemp was used in the manufacture of military equipment, aircraft components, construction materials and clothing.
Wajackoyah also made claims about the crop’s use in pharmaceutical production, including alleging that Pfizer’s Covid-19 medicine was made from hemp and that similar products were used to treat cancer in India.
However, the claims were not independently substantiated during the interview.
Pfizer’s published description of its Comirnaty Covid-19 vaccine identifies messenger RNA, lipids, salts and sugar among its ingredients, with no hemp listed. The vaccine’s active component is mRNA, which instructs cells to produce a version of the coronavirus spike protein and trigger an immune response.
The distinction between industrial hemp and psychoactive cannabis is also important. Although both come from the Cannabis sativa plant, industrial hemp is generally cultivated for its fibre, seeds and other industrial uses, while cannabis products can contain varying levels of THC, the compound responsible for the intoxicating effect.
Kenya’s Cannabis Laws Present a Major Challenge
Despite his economic arguments, Wajackoyah’s proposal would require significant legal changes before commercial cultivation could be implemented.
Kenya’s Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (Control) Act, 1994, identifies cannabis plants as prohibited and criminalises their cultivation, except where activities are permitted under the law or applicable licensing arrangements.
The legislation defines a cannabis plant broadly to include any plant of the cannabis genus, meaning a distinction between industrial hemp and other cannabis varieties cannot simply be assumed to create an automatic exemption.
Wajackoyah’s proposal would therefore require a clear legal and regulatory framework covering cultivation, licensing, processing, distribution and commercial use.
The debate would also involve questions about public health safeguards, quality control, export standards and the economic viability of establishing a hemp industry.
Galana-Kulalu Among Proposed Farming Locations
Wajackoyah believes Kenya has favourable climatic and soil conditions for large-scale cultivation, pointing to parts of the Gusii region and western Kenya.
He claimed that Nyamira and Bunyore had suitable soils for the crop, attributing the position to research by the World Health Organisation (WHO).
He did not provide the research or documentation supporting the claim during the interview.
The politician also proposed allocating 200,000 acres of the Galana-Kulalu irrigation project to hemp farming, arguing that the crop could generate substantial agricultural output.
“If we plant the crop in Galana Kulalu, where we had 1 million acres; we plant the crop in 200,000 acres only; how many kilograms shall we produce?” he posed.
He further claimed that hemp matures within four months, requires no fertiliser and is naturally resistant to pests.
Those agricultural claims would need to be assessed through independent research, including trials examining suitable varieties, yields, water requirements, pest management and market demand.
Wajackoyah Reflects on 2022 Election Performance
The Roots Party leader also revisited his unsuccessful 2022 presidential campaign, attributing part of his performance to a lack of support from the Kikuyu community.
“I did not succeed in 2022 because I had no support for the Kikuyus,” he said.
He maintained that the public ridicule he faced over his manifesto had not discouraged him from pursuing the proposals.
“People did not understand me [in 2022]. They hurled insults at me. But being insulted is not bad. It’s learning,” he said.
Wajackoyah finished third in the 2022 presidential election, receiving 61,969 votes, equivalent to 0.44 per cent of the valid votes cast. President William Ruto won the election with 7,176,141 votes.
