County-level bans on Muguka, a variety of Miraa, are null and void, Agriculture CS Mithika Linturi has said, explaining that Mũgũka is a scheduled crop under the Crops Act 2013 and the Miraa Regulations 2023.
The latest development comes after President Ruto and the Embu leadership held a special meeting on Monday to discuss the ban on Muguka in select counties.
Governor Cecily Mbarire was among those who attended the Monday meeting at State House Nairobi, along with the deputy governor, the senator, the Woman representative, and all County Assembly Members.
CS Linturi, who was also present, clarified the legal status of Muguka, stating that any purported prohibitions in Mombasa, Taita Taveta, and Kilifi counties that contradict the shrub’s legal recognition are null and void.
CS Linturi explained that the Crops Act 2013 and Miraa Regulations 2023 were approved by the Council of Governors after being passed by the National Assembly and Senate, respectively.
The regulations mandate that the government fund various aspects of Mũgũka farming, including licencing, promotion, regulation, transportation, aggregation, selling, marketing, and export.
The Miraa/Mũgũka Pricing Committee has three members nominated by the Council of Governors, as per the regulations.
Following the meeting, the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock was directed to convene a consultative forum to address stakeholders’ concerns.
This forum aims to address concerns and help implement the Miraa/Mũgũka Regulations 2023.
Additionally, the Miraa/Mũgũka Standard Code of Practice will be implemented to regulate all activities related to the crop.
According to CS Linturi, the government is committed to improving the Mũgũka industry through increased farming, aggregation, grading, pricing, packaging, and value addition.
To support these efforts, the government has pledged KSh500 million in the fiscal year 2024/25 for value addition.
Last week the three counties, Mombasa, Kilifi and Taita Taveta banned the entry, transportation, sale, and use of Muguka and its products.
Governor Nassir on Thursday ordered the ban highlighting the pervasive consumption of the stimulant drug at the Coast, including among school-going children.
According to Nassir, muguka traders have ignored laws put in place to safeguard children from the drug’s influence, with some even going as far as selling the drug to minors.
“We have tried to come up with regulations so that users and the larger community can co-exist but they have refused and for this reason, I have consulted legally and found my decree to be in order,” said Nassir.
“I have signed an executive order to ban the entry of muguka into Mombasa and to ban the sale and consumption of muguka into Mombasa.”
Elsewhere, kilifi had effected a similar ban, with Governor Gideon Mung’aro banning the entry, transportation, distribution, sale of Muguka within the county.
“In exercise of the powers conferred in Section 30(2)(1) of the County Government Act and all other enabling laws of Kenya, I, Gideon Maitha Mung’aro, Governor of Kilifi County, hereby order and direct as that there be a total prohibition on the entry, transportation, distribution, sale, and use of muguka and its products within Kilifi County,” Mung’aro said in a statement.
The orders by the two governors came in the wake of a spirited push by women leaders who have been calling for the ban of muguka, and regularisation of miraa over the drugs’ detrimental effects on young people’s health.
