Battle to stop GMO foods in Kenya lands in Court of Appeal
By Joseph Ndunda |
But the petitioners asked the high court to suspend the cabinet decision which they argued was unconstitutional as it did not follow public participation.
Lawyers, farmers' associations and food security activists have petitioned the Court of Appeal to issue a conservatory order suspending the high court judgement that lifted the restrictions preventing the importation and cultivation of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) in the country.
Advocates Paul Mwangi and Wangui Njoroge filed the appeal under certificate of urgency arguing that the appeal is a matter of great public interest and court decision on it has far-reaching consequences and should therefore be accorded utmost urgency.
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They have appealed against the judgement by Justice Lawrence Mugambi but want the appellate court to impose a ban on the importation, growth and or trial of GMO crops pending a hearing and determination of the appeal.
Together with Kenya Peasants League, Kenya Small Scale Farmers Forum and activists Ali Sarif, Doreen Namaemba Ezekiel Juma and Harry Amatsimba want the court of appeal to suspend the judgement of the high court.
They have listed the Attorney General, Cabinet Secretary (CS) for the Ministry of Agriculture, National Biosafety Authority, CS for the Ministry of Trade, Investments and Industry, the entire cabinet and the secretary to the cabinet as the respondents.
The appellants argue that unless a conservatory order staying the lifting of the restrictions is issued, the intended appeal will be useless. The National Biosafety Authority is already developing mechanisms for testing GMO crops in Kenya.
"The conservatory is absolutely necessary as the effect of the implementation of the lifting order is not reversible or compensable in the event the appeal succeeds," they argue.
"In truth, the Cabinet decision made on October 3, 2022, did not lift the ban on GMO seeds, foods and other organisms in Kenya as none existed, but actually removed all the regulatory barriers that had been established over the 10 years for the protection of the people of Kenya."
Late president Mwai Kibaki's cabinet had on November 8, 2012, made a decision prohibiting GMO foods in Kenya.
The petitioners say Kibaki's cabinet did not close the door on the use of biotechnology in Kenya but rather closed the door on the introduction of foods that are untested by local regulatory authorities and that they may be introduced regardless of the health, religious and cultural sensitivities of people of Kenya.
"There is a lack of sufficient information on the public health impact of such foods and the ban would remain in effect until there was sufficient information, data, and knowledge demonstrating that GMO foods are not a danger to public health," the cabinet resolved unanimously.
However, in October 2022, the cabinet lifted the ban on the production, importation and use of GMO foods and animal feeds.
But the petitioners asked the high court to suspend the cabinet decision which they argued was unconstitutional as it did not follow public participation, and appealed after they lost at the high court.
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