Former Kwale County Speaker Sammy Ruwa has reignited the debate over muguka, calling for joint legislation across all six coastal counties to regulate the stimulant. Kwale County Assembly was the first to ban the substance in 2016.
In May, Mombasa and Kilifi Governors Abdulswamad Nassir and Gideon Mung’aro issued executive orders prohibiting the sale, supply, distribution, and consumption of muguka, a variant of miraa.
Following this, Kwale implemented deterrent measures by imposing high taxes on the stimulant rather than an outright ban. This led to protests from Meru and Embu counties, the primary sources of muguka, culminating in a lawsuit. The High Court in Embu intervened, suspending the ban pending the hearing and conclusion of the case brought by Embu County.
“That is why we came up with Jumuiya ya Kaunti Za Pwani, a regional bloc. That is the right forum for the six governors to sit together and discuss cross-cutting issues so as to come up with one legislation instead of all the six counties coming up with six different legislation to tackle a common problem,” Ruwa said.
He spoke on Monday during the Distinguished Leadership Series, an interview programme run by Crystal Perk International Research and Management Institute, where various distinguished leaders answer questions from members of the public.
He said the JKP should work with the Coast People’s Forum to come up with areas of interest where proposals can be done and presented to the national government as a coast proposal.
“This can then be sifted through and come up with viable way forward,” he said.
There was a time fishing matters rocked the counties, with fishermen from one county clashing with fishermen from a neighbouring county over territorial waters.
He called on Coast legislators to push for the reclassification of muguka as a purely psychotropic drugs and not cash crops, adding that coastal counties are in a catch-22 situation.
On the one hand, they are not allowed to implement policies that hinder national trade, and on the other, county governments have the mandate to control drugs and substance abuse.
“The coastal community has already identified this specific substance as one that is being abused by their people. So, whether it is being abused in Meru or not, doesn’t concern the three counties.
“Our concern is that our people are abusing the drug and we have a responsibility to control it. And so, the governors were very much in order to seek control of the sale and distribution of muguka as a substance,” Ruwa said.
“And there was a lot of noise so much so that when we went for the inter-county games, Embu and Meru counties were not very happy with us. But we told them we are protecting our people.”
