High Court Allows Ruto To Lift GMO Barrier In Kenya
On Thursday, the High Court dismissed all cases challenging President William Ruto’s order to lift Kenya’s ban on genetically modified crops and foods.
During a sitting at Milimani Law Courts in Nairobi, Justice Lawrence Mugambi dismissed petitions filed against the lifting of the ban on genetically modified foods, which had been a contentious development.
Justice Hon Lawrence Mugambi of The High Court (Kenya) today dismissed petitions challenging the 2022 lifting of the ban on genetically modified organisms (GMO). In his ruling, Justice Mugambi noted that the matter was dealt with by the Environment and Land Court (ELC) in 2023.
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Mugambi ruled that the issue had been fairly resolved at Nairobi’s Environment and Land Court in 2023, as part of a suit filed by the Law Society of Kenya.
The court also directed that since the case had been fairly handled, it would therefore not transfer any costs to the petitioners.
He determined that no Kenyan was predisposed to any health risks associated with the cultivation and consumption of GMOs, dismissing LSK’s claim.
“In view of the above, the court hereby finds that the current petition is res judicata. The same is struck out the same with no orders as to costs,” Justice Mugambi ruled.
Justice Oscar Angote of the Environment Court ruled that LSK could not prove in its petition that GMOs would pose a health risk.
“With all these institutions, save for NEMA which has not issued an Environmental Impact Assessment Licence, we should be confident that our health and environment are in good hands, it cannot be true that they have all conspired to expose the rest of the population to the calamities alluded to in the petition, at least not from the evidence on record,” Angote ruled.
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“The evidence before me shows that the country has put in place robust frameworks with inbuilt structures which must be met before they consider and determine applications approval and transfer, handling and use of genetically modified organisms,” Angote added in the landmark ruling.
In early October 2022, President Ruto signed an executive order lifting a ten-year ban on the growth and cultivation of genetically modified crops and foods (GMOs).
Dark Day in Kenya as High Court Lifts the Ban on GMOs. We are not relenting. We have instructed our advocates to FILE A NOTICE OF APPEAL this afternoon. Aluta Continua #FarmersSeeds #KeepTheBan #GMOFreeKenya #November7Ruling @1000currents @FundAgroecology @via_campesina @cidioti pic.twitter.com/wOeastQBpm
— Kenyan Peasants League (@PeasantsLeague) November 7, 2024
The executive order came after a Cabinet resolution to lift the ban, which sparked protests from some Kenyans who argued that the move would have a devastating impact on their lives.
Today’s decision is expected to reignite the debate over the safety of GMOs, which has been a contentious issue, with Kenyans and professionals expressing differing opinions about the decision.
High Court Allows Ruto To Lift GMO Barrier In Kenya
