A man who was arrested for growing marijuana on his farm at Mugui village in Embu East sub-county pleaded his case saying the plant has medicinal value.

Gerald Njiru Ireri said he has been using Cannabis as a vegetable for nearly half a decade. He said he was introduced to the “holy herb” by a man identified as Gacathi Mbui.

Njiru said Mbui used to live in the forest in the early 1970s and claims to have used it to cure a woman who had a large cancerous wound sometime back, the Standard reports.

The elderly man also cried foul, accusing the area chief of uprooting and destroying his marijuana plants without his consent.

“I am a God-fearing man and the chief has uprooted my plants without my consent. This is a traditional herb which needs to be adopted for its medicinal value,” he said.

Police also arrested the man’s wife who said she has been uprooting the plants to discourage her husband but her efforts had proved futile.

The area chief Mark Nyaga said they swung into action to arrest Njiru after members of the public snitched that he had a nursery of cannabis. Damn you snitches! May you get stitches.

The administrator also revealed that Njiru previously served two separate jail terms over cannabis. He said they have since launched a crackdown to establish where he supplies the herb.

Here are some Twitter reactions to the helpless man’s arrest: