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:
I personally know this old man. He was recently released from jail where he had been incarcerated for 7year for the same crime of growing Cannabis in his farm
— Highland Boy (@Highlandboy1) February 9, 2021
He looks healthy, let the man continue being a vegetarian.
— Kenya West© (@KinyanBoy) February 9, 2021
It’s not like he’s been stealing 2 billion shillings per day since 2013.
— Negritude✊? (@BozNegritude) February 9, 2021
Bora ako healthy akuna shida aachiliwe bana??@TLM?✊?
— TUNUGUS’ LIVES MATTER ?✊✊ (@BazengaWaMemes) February 9, 2021
Sasa makosa yake ni gani ??shamba ni yake ,mwili ni yake na mboga ni yake ,awachiliwe we’re all advised by healthy workers to eat greens
— Plimo Tuimengit (@TuimengitP) February 9, 2021
This is complete BS! Let the man be! Our ancestors enjoyed these indigenous plants until those colonialists set foot in these parts with their nonsensical rules. It’s time to revert to our ways of doing things.
— Rarin (@Rarin) February 9, 2021
— Muthoni Gachagua (@GachaguaMuthoni) February 9, 2021
??????wamemshikisha kiberiti to make their case strong…shaaaka hii ni Kenya…
— SADIST (@the__sadist) February 9, 2021
Smallish fish under siege.
— A R A B B U ▫️ N D E G E (@arabbu) February 9, 2021
So the guy was arrested for getting high on his own supply…so unfair.
— KHAEMBA WANDABUSI . (@ItsKhaemba) February 9, 2021
Why arrest a vegetarian who is just enjoying his meal. Senator @ledamalekina this is not fair at all??
— Josh Oluga (@Josholuga) February 9, 2021
High stew… https://t.co/ELe2ZrJM7Z
— HardGirl (@SandraAwilli) February 9, 2021
The same Marijuana is legal in our donor states? https://t.co/c5EwckgMj6
— Karomaindo ? (@mcpipita) February 9, 2021
Pack this narrative up. Cannabis is medicine. Its reputation is grounded in colonialism and racism.
Cannabis. Is. Medicine. https://t.co/ERXJKJF3Md
— SM (@SilasMiami) February 9, 2021
Double Standards.
Watu ya Sigara kubwa all walking scott free. https://t.co/1bVWgY7d0n— Sultan (@nasirkenya) February 9, 2021
Legalise cannabis and let people be. This thing of frustrating people who are minding their business needs to stop. https://t.co/Ao0vAbi0go
— Scheaffer Okore. (@scheafferoo) February 9, 2021
Imagine people. Coming to arrest you in your house where you were minding your own business ? https://t.co/hz0QhCf49a
— ?HEART BREAK KID? (@NotNice_12) February 9, 2021
Can’t get over the disciplining logic of colonialism – disciplining land to meet juridical specifications of what counts as food or to accommodate private landownership and then disciplining the people associated with that land for reaping what the land provides… https://t.co/xQrBxyb7KQ
— mumbi. (@miss_mumbz) February 9, 2021
??????????????
I hate this shit.
I am sure he never once bothered anyone.
Just grew his food, worked and did his Life.
But the colonized mind shall never give peace to the Free mind. https://t.co/eAEdNHWtRl— Yahshua (@Yahshua_YesSure) February 9, 2021
Kenya has some really outdated laws ??♂️ – many African countries are already farming marijuana for export.. https://t.co/YWWONPJb3g
— Excelsior (@RavS82) February 9, 2021
We really need to grow up as a country. https://t.co/LBSEkrM2fQ
— Samurai Noetic. (@SupremeGREAM) February 9, 2021
@NPSOfficial_KE @IG_NPS do you know tobacco smoking kills 8 million people each year,no deaths recorded from smoking marijuana alone,let the man be #meditation #legalizeit https://t.co/dIOstJxRsi
— Sav (@juliusmk_) February 9, 2021
#LegalizeItAlready! Let the old man go! Arrest Uhuru and Sonko and set bail at 2 billion a day! #UshenziKE! https://t.co/zCD2oe4FW5
— Wanjikũ Revolution™ (@WanjikuRevolt) February 9, 2021
What is this nonsense..set that old wise man free bana #legalizemarijuana https://t.co/zxPI1EXKKm
— Яitchⓔⓔ (@MuthicaniNjorua) February 9, 2021
Wale wa kuiba 2 Billion a day mshamalizana nao kwanza? https://t.co/tfZq6ZtYFl
— قلبا شاكرا?? (@Shirley_Sein) February 9, 2021
Free the man we can all see clearly hata alikuwa na Kiberiti ya kuwasha jiko.
LEGALIZE https://t.co/L2b4q9HuZn— Kevo Kiptindinyo (@KevoMkale_) February 9, 2021
Mtu akikula mboga yake, kwake, yenye amekuza kwa shamba yake kutumia pesa zake ni makosa? Such a BS country ? https://t.co/WPIHJXWoaS
— The Go Getter (@CallmeSonik) February 9, 2021
Total waste of resources prosecuting this gentleman. @ODPP_KE read the comments and look at the attitudes towards cannabis in society before charging people. https://t.co/Gina3iNKqU
— I Be No Gentleman At All ? (@Nemsy1) February 9, 2021
