Overview
- Justice Bahati Mwamuye dismissed the Rastafari petition, finding petitioners had not proven that cannabis use is essential to their religion.
- The ruling leaves the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (Control) Act of 1994 in place, which criminalises cultivation, possession and use of cannabis with penalties including fines and up to 10 years in prison.
- The petitioners announced they will appeal the decision to the Court of Appeal and held public protests at Nairobi’s Freedom Corner, where participants chanted, beat drums and smoked cannabis in protest.
- The judge criticised the severity of the current drug law and said Kenya needs a full, public debate on cannabis policy because recreational use is widespread and the status quo appears untenable.
- Kenya’s dispute over a narrow religious exemption draws on a longer legal and social history, including a 2019 court ruling that protected Rastafari dreadlocks and debate over colonial-era roots of the country’s drug laws.