Prof. George Wajackoyah became a political sensation in 2022 when he ran his presidential campaign on the premise of making Kenya a major exporter of marijuana, snake venom and hyenas’ testicles.
Unfortunately for Prof. Wajackoyah, his campaign speeches that used to move the masses did not move the votes. He came a distant third in those elections, garnering a meagre 61,969 votes, at least according to the electoral commission because the professor of law claims otherwise.
Prior to the elections, many political commentators and Kenyans alike had questioned the feasibility of Prof. Wajackoyah’s aforementioned plans. And now that Kenyans are gearing up for the 2027 elections, he has come up with another proposal—moving Kenya’s capital from Nairobi to Isiolo.
According to the Roots Party of Kenya leader, colonial authorities erroneously established Nairobi as Kenya’s capital. So myopic were they, Prof. Wajackoyah argues, that they established a whole city on a swampy land.
“Nairobi City is sinking because it was built on a swamp. My proposal is let’s go and open up a new city in Isiolo, because of Isiolo’s proximity to Ethiopia, Somalia, Sudan and Southern Corridor,” Prof. Wajackoyah said during an interview on TV47’s Daily Report show on Monday, June 9.
He added: “Based on this strategic location of Isiolo, we shall expand and then export agricultural produce from the mountain, straight to the airport then boom! And then we shall plan the city correctly. Nairobi is sinking, and I will be a dictator on that issue.”
Is Nairobi really sinking?
Nonetheless, Prof. Wajackoyah’s sentiments are not far-fetched, he does have a point.
According to studies published on the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR), Nairobi is at risk of subsidence, and that is partly the reason why the city experiences intense flooding in some residential areas.
One particular study done by Pius Kirui, Samson Oiro, Hunja Waithaka et al. indicates both localised and regionalised subsidence in several locations in the west and north west of Nairobi.
“The largest deforming unit in Nairobi’s western part is subsiding at approximately 62 mm/yr. Land subsidence can be attributed to groundwater overexploitation because it coincides with regions with the highest decline in groundwater levels. However, subsidence can also be attributed to consolidation associated with rapid urbanization in other areas such as east of Nairobi. This evaluation corroborates previous hydrogeological investigations which indicated that Nairobi was at risk of subsidence, contributing to flooding in some residential areas.
Parliament to Nakuru
But Prof. Wajackoyah is not stopping there with his controversial proposals that he feels will make Kenya a better country. He wants Parliament Buildings relocated to somewhere else.
“Parliament will also have to move away from Nairobi so that we can take it to maybe Nakuru,” he posed.
In this way, Prof. Wajackoyah says that Kenyans will realise the full potential of devolution, just like how Tanzanians and Nigerians have. “In this way, we can do proper devolution like what Tanzanians have done with Dodoma, Nigerians have done it with Abuja, and the U.S is creating new cities. In this way, we can actually urbanise other areas that are lagging behind.”
