NAIROBI Kenya
The High Court in Kenya has temporarily suspended the government’s plan to allow importation and distribution of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) pending determination of a lawsuit against the lifting of the ban.
The lawsuit, which is the
second one to be lodged against President William Ruto's administration for
allowing the consumption of GMOs in Kenya, was filed by Kenyan Peasants League,
a lobby representing small-scale farmers. The group claims that the decision to
lift the ban is not procedural and it is unlawful.
The court orders, signed by
Justice Mugure Thande, bar the government from gazetting any directives
regarding GMOs or acting on the Cabinet dispatch that announced the lifting of
the ban on GMOs.
The group alleges that GMO
products pose a health risk to Kenyans, particularly the poor and those with
low incomes. It also alleges that the government lifted the ban without
involving Kenyans through public participation as required by the Constitution.
The group is opposed to the
importation, cultivation and consumption of GMOs.
The High Court in Kenya has
temporarily suspended the government’s plan to allow importation and
distribution of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) pending determination of
a lawsuit against the lifting of the ban.
The lawsuit, which is the
second one to be lodged against President William Ruto's administration for
allowing the consumption of GMOs in Kenya, was filed by Kenyan Peasants League,
a lobby representing small-scale farmers. The group claims that the decision to
lift the ban is not procedural and it is unlawful.
The court orders, signed by
Justice Mugure Thande, bar the government from gazetting any directives
regarding GMOs or acting on the Cabinet dispatch that announced the lifting of
the ban on GMOs.
The group alleges that GMO
products pose a health risk to Kenyans, particularly the poor and those with
low incomes. It also alleges that the government lifted the ban without
involving Kenyans through public participation as required by the Constitution.
The group is opposed to the
importation, cultivation and consumption of GMOs.
The first lawsuit was filed
last month by Mr Paul Mwangi. He sued the government for lifting regulatory
barriers imposed a decade ago on GMOs and withholding public information on the
genetically engineered crops.
He accused government of
mischief, saying the decision was hurried and if not quashed, it would result
in the violation of the rights of small-scale farmers and consumers.
He stated that the import of
the 2022 Cabinet decision to allow introduction of GMOs was not to remove a ban
on genetically modified foods, but to effect a blanket lifting of all protocols
controlling the introduction of GMOs in Kenya. Mr Mwangi claimed that the
decision by the Cabinet on October 3 will lead to the disappearance of
indigenous seeds and pave way for the commercial practice of protecting the
patent rights of the GMO seeds.
“Of particular concern is the
imminent introduction into Kenya of crops developed using genetic use
restriction technology (GURT), which is a technology involving the insertion of
what is known as a “terminator gene” into seeds so that upon germination, the
seeds ‘commit suicide’ and are therefore unable to pass any life after their
harvest. The said harvest is thus incapable of being re-sown and cannot
germinate into new crop,” said Mr Mwangi.
GMOs were banned by former
president Mwai Kibaki’s administration in 2012 and remained so under that of
his successor Uhuru Kenyatta.
“The last two administrations
had, following the ban imposed by the 2012 Cabinet decision, developed
regulatory protocols that had seen the structured introduction in the country
of at least one food crop and one cash crop developed through genetic
modification without prejudicing the rights and freedoms of the people of Kenya
and the Bill of Rights,” said Mr Mwangi.
According to him, the decision
passed by President Ruto’s Cabinet to address food shortage in the country is
bad for the country’s farmers and consumers.
The lawsuit also accuses the
government of disparages the rights of peasant farmers and people working in
the rural areas.
The government is yet to file
its responses to the two lawsuits.
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