Coast MPs urge CS Linturi to back amendment declaring muguka a narcotic

Coast Parliamentary Group (CPG), led by Kilifi North MP Owen Baya has officially written a letter to Agriculture CS Mithika Linturi, urging him to join calls to amend The Narcotics, Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (Control) Act No. 4 of 1994 and declare Muguka a narcotic.

The lawmakers addressed the letter to Linturi’s office, Kilimo House, along Cathedral Road in Nairobi, on Tuesday, stating that they would not honour mediation talks until the product is labelled a banned substance.

"We, the undersigned, on behalf of all the Members of the Coast Parliamentary Group and particularly the Members of Parliament of the counties of Taita Taveta, Mombasa and Kilifi, wish to thank you very sincerely for the invitation to attend a consultative forum on Muguka and Miraa industry emerging issues at Maanzoni Lodge on June 6, 2024, as indicated in your letter of invitation dated May 31, 2024.

We, humbly and respectfully decline the invitation on the basis that we view Muguka as an illicit drug as provided in The Narcotics, Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (Control) Act No. 4 of 1994 and not as a cash crop under the Crops Act,” the letter signed by Owen Baya, the CPG chairman read.

Baya added that the leaders were heading to firm instructions from their constituents and driven by their conscience to protect the generations from being destroyed by narcotics.

The lawmakers emphasised that they will not sit at the same table and negotiate “with people who are hell-bent on pushing the continuous consumption of a substance that is destroying people at the Coast of Kenya under the guise of an Agricultural crop.”

Muguka on sale in Eastleigh, Nairobi, in this file picture. (Photo: Abdirahman Khalif/EV)

Muguka, they argued, was not a cash crop as viewed in its predominant areas of Embu and Meru counties.

“We urge you to join us in expunging Miraa/Muguka as a scheduled crop from the Crops Act and assigning it rightly as a Narcotic through the introduction of an amendment Bill in the Houses of Parliament,” Baya added.

On Monday, Baya and Wundanyi MP Danson Mwashako hinted at discussing the issue on the legislative floor, where they will seek amendments to laws governing the sale of Muguka.

Mwashako insisted that they arrived at the decision after meeting experts who proved that the effects of Muguka are very severe. The experts included doctors and other professionals who have studied psychology and researched on effects of drug abuse.

Baya added that Coast leaders will not be intimidated by leaders from other regions as they are also part of the government.

On Tuesday, Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Mithika Linturi urged all the six coastal governors to embrace dialogue arguing that Muguka was a stimulant.

He added that he was wary of talks plummeting after the leaders vowed to skip a stakeholders' meeting he planned to hold on Thursday to address their grievances.

Governors Abdulswamad Sheriff Nassir (Mombasa), Gideon Mung'aro (Kilifi), Andrew Mwadime (Taita Taveta), Fatuma Achani (Kwale), Dhadho Gaddae Godhana (Tana River), and Issa Timamy (Lamu) pledge against honouring Linturi’s invite.

"It is only through dialogue with all actors that we will find a lasting solution to the concerns raised. The platform will also enable us to agree on how the existing legislation will be implemented to the latter," Linturi urged.

Earlier, the coastal governors accused him of backing Embu and Meru traders, arguing that he comes from the region.