By Julius Kithuure in Nairobi
August 02, 2013
Kenyan politicians, farmers and exporters are calling on the
government to start urgent talks with Britain over a looming ban there
on qat, or miraa, a plant that offers a stimulant affect when chewed.
A British ban could cause the multi-million dollar qat cultivation industry in Kenya to collapse, lobbyists say.
On July 3rd, British Home Secretary Theresa May declared that her country planned to ban qat, despite urgings by Britain's Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs not to ban the plant, saying it has no ties to serious or organised crime.
Nonetheless, May said the main reasons the government decided to ban the drug were political, as most other countries in Europe, as well as the United States and Canada, have banned the plant.
"Failure to take decisive action and change the UK's legislative position on qat would place the UK at a serious risk of becoming a single, regional hub for the illegal onward trafficking of qat," she said in a statement to parliament. "Seizures of qat transiting the UK en route to the Netherlands have already been increasing in size and frequency since the Dutch ban earlier this year."
Despite the advisory council's inability to provide conclusive evidence on qat's alleged dangers, May said it is deleterious to society.
"Qat continues to feature prominently amongst the health and social harms, such as low attainment and family breakdown, cited by affected communities and the police and local authorities working with them," she said, adding that qat possession should be treated in the same manner as possession of cannabis, with warnings and fines before arrests.
The qat cultivation industry in Kenya employs close to 500,000 farmers and dealers, according to the 2012 Kenya Economic Survey compiled by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS). Qat is Kenya's fourth largest export in terms of cumulative volume, at almost 16.5 billion shillings ($189 million), according KNBS data.
Lawmakers and trade leaders who represent the regions where qat is grown have criticised what they say is the government's reluctance to lobby to have qat classified as a cash crop rather than a drug.
"All we want is for our government to initiate talks with Britain so that they can reverse the ban on qat, which is [a source of] livelihood for the Meru people and Kenyans in general," said Kimanthi Munjuri, chairman of the Nyambene Miraa Traders Association.
Before the Netherlands banned qat in January, Britain was the second largest international market for qat, importing between 20- and 25 tonnes weekly of Kenyan-grown qat. Now, the UK represents the biggest importer, taking in 30 tonnes of Kenyan qat weekly, Munjuri told Sabahi.
In Britain, the main consumers of qat are expatriates from the Somali, Kenyan, Ethiopian and Yemeni communities.
Kipkorir Menjo, director of the Kenya Farmers Association, said the British and Kenyan governments needed to grasp the implications of a ban on qat.
"Thousands of farmers, traders, distributors and exporters will be rendered jobless and this is not good news when the Jubilee government is grappling with job scarcity," he told Sabahi. "The whole industry is likely to collapse because the UK is a major market which has been bringing our people good earnings, and at the same time earning the country much needed foreign exchange currency."
"Qat supports millions of lives in Kenya," Murungi told Sabahi. He said he was prepared to lobby the UK government to fight the qat ban. "I am also planning a delegation to see President [Uhuru] Kenyatta on the same issue soon."
On July 25th, Munya and Murungi presented a petition to British High Commissioner in Kenya Christian Turner requesting a reversal of the ban and the establishment of a dialogue on how to improve the safety of qat consumption.
Meru County politicians are also threatening to mobilise qat farmers and the government to press for the closure of British army training bases and British-owned farms, on top of boycotting British imports.
"However, I hope it will not reach to this point," said Florence Kajuju, women's representative for Meru County in the National Assembly. "We have faith that British parliament will not [uphold the ban] when the time comes. We also hope our president will intervene by sending a trade delegation to meet [with] UK government officials."
Lawmakers are also petitioning the Kenyan government to change its stance on qat, as the National Campaign Against Drug Abuse Authority (NACADA) has listed qat as a narcotic.
On July 29th, Global Miraa Industry Dealers Network and Meru area politicians filed a motion in court to sue NACADA. The plaintiffs want qat to be classified as a crop and for lawmakers to enact legislation requiring the agricultural ministry to protect it.
Displeased by the federal government's reluctance to intervene, lawmakers have set up a 29-member committee to investigate the health effects of qat and the economic impact in Meru where the stimulant is grown.
"We will investigate all matters relating to qat thoroughly," Kajuju told Sabahi. "We shall leave no stone unturned and I promise we shall consider and review all research findings and make recommendations to the House within 90 days."
Such sums do not go through any legal banking system and create loopholes for the possible bankrolling of terrorism and extremism in the Horn of Africa, said Paul M. Taiti, a senior analyst at Nairobi Security Information Centre.
Extensive qat use by militias like al-Shabaab in Somalia and al-Qaeda in Yemen has given the stimulating twig a very bad reputation, he told Sabahi.
"There are always suspicions that are yet to be established connecting millions of dollars accruing from the miraa trade to funding terrorism networks in the Horn of Africa and north-west Africa," Taiti said. "This is why the EU and UK are uncomfortable with the whole qat trade."
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![Kenyan farmer Mzee Isai displays a bundle of qat plucked from his 300-year-old tree in Meru County. [Simon Maina/AFP]](http://sabahionline.com/shared/images/2013/08/02/kenya-qat-farmer-340_227.jpg)
Kenyan farmer Mzee Isai displays a bundle of qat plucked from his 300-year-old tree in Meru County. [Simon Maina/AFP]
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![A Somali man chews qat in Uithoorn, Netherlands, on January 12, 2012. The Dutch government on January 10th banned the stimulant leaf, used mainly by people from Somalia, Ethiopia, Kenya and Yemen. [Koen Van Weel/ANP/AFP]](http://sabahionline.com/shared/images/2013/08/02/netherlands-somalia-qat-340_227.jpg)
A Somali man chews qat in Uithoorn, Netherlands, on January 12, 2012.
The Dutch government on January 10th banned the stimulant leaf, used
mainly by people from Somalia, Ethiopia, Kenya and Yemen. [Koen Van
Weel/ANP/AFP]
-
![A pickup truck is loaded with sacks of qat in Meru County. The stimulant leaf starts to lose its effects 48 hours after being harvested, a factor that leads to a constant race against the clock to get it to the end user. [Simon Maina/AFP]](http://sabahionline.com/shared/images/2013/08/02/kenya-qat-export-340_227.jpg)
A pickup truck is loaded with sacks of qat in Meru County. The
stimulant leaf starts to lose its effects 48 hours after being
harvested, a factor that leads to a constant race against the clock to
get it to the end user. [Simon Maina/AFP]
![Kenyan farmer Mzee Isai displays a bundle of qat plucked from his 300-year-old tree in Meru County. [Simon Maina/AFP]](http://sabahionline.com/shared/images/2013/08/02/kenya-qat-farmer.jpg)
![A Somali man chews qat in Uithoorn, Netherlands, on January 12, 2012. The Dutch government on January 10th banned the stimulant leaf, used mainly by people from Somalia, Ethiopia, Kenya and Yemen. [Koen Van Weel/ANP/AFP]](http://sabahionline.com/shared/images/2013/08/02/netherlands-somalia-qat.jpg)
![A pickup truck is loaded with sacks of qat in Meru County. The stimulant leaf starts to lose its effects 48 hours after being harvested, a factor that leads to a constant race against the clock to get it to the end user. [Simon Maina/AFP]](http://sabahionline.com/shared/images/2013/08/02/kenya-qat-export.jpg)
On July 3rd, British Home Secretary Theresa May declared that her country planned to ban qat, despite urgings by Britain's Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs not to ban the plant, saying it has no ties to serious or organised crime.
Nonetheless, May said the main reasons the government decided to ban the drug were political, as most other countries in Europe, as well as the United States and Canada, have banned the plant.
"Failure to take decisive action and change the UK's legislative position on qat would place the UK at a serious risk of becoming a single, regional hub for the illegal onward trafficking of qat," she said in a statement to parliament. "Seizures of qat transiting the UK en route to the Netherlands have already been increasing in size and frequency since the Dutch ban earlier this year."
Despite the advisory council's inability to provide conclusive evidence on qat's alleged dangers, May said it is deleterious to society.
"Qat continues to feature prominently amongst the health and social harms, such as low attainment and family breakdown, cited by affected communities and the police and local authorities working with them," she said, adding that qat possession should be treated in the same manner as possession of cannabis, with warnings and fines before arrests.
Qat and the Kenyan economy
Banning qat in Britain could have negative effects on the Kenyan economy, Meru lawmakers and traders warn.The qat cultivation industry in Kenya employs close to 500,000 farmers and dealers, according to the 2012 Kenya Economic Survey compiled by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS). Qat is Kenya's fourth largest export in terms of cumulative volume, at almost 16.5 billion shillings ($189 million), according KNBS data.
Lawmakers and trade leaders who represent the regions where qat is grown have criticised what they say is the government's reluctance to lobby to have qat classified as a cash crop rather than a drug.
"All we want is for our government to initiate talks with Britain so that they can reverse the ban on qat, which is [a source of] livelihood for the Meru people and Kenyans in general," said Kimanthi Munjuri, chairman of the Nyambene Miraa Traders Association.
Before the Netherlands banned qat in January, Britain was the second largest international market for qat, importing between 20- and 25 tonnes weekly of Kenyan-grown qat. Now, the UK represents the biggest importer, taking in 30 tonnes of Kenyan qat weekly, Munjuri told Sabahi.
In Britain, the main consumers of qat are expatriates from the Somali, Kenyan, Ethiopian and Yemeni communities.
Kipkorir Menjo, director of the Kenya Farmers Association, said the British and Kenyan governments needed to grasp the implications of a ban on qat.
"Thousands of farmers, traders, distributors and exporters will be rendered jobless and this is not good news when the Jubilee government is grappling with job scarcity," he told Sabahi. "The whole industry is likely to collapse because the UK is a major market which has been bringing our people good earnings, and at the same time earning the country much needed foreign exchange currency."
Meru lawmakers pressure Britain, Kenya to reverse ban
Meru County Governor Peter Munya and Senator Kiraitu Murungi have vowed to lead politicians in lobbying the British government to reverse the ban."Qat supports millions of lives in Kenya," Murungi told Sabahi. He said he was prepared to lobby the UK government to fight the qat ban. "I am also planning a delegation to see President [Uhuru] Kenyatta on the same issue soon."
On July 25th, Munya and Murungi presented a petition to British High Commissioner in Kenya Christian Turner requesting a reversal of the ban and the establishment of a dialogue on how to improve the safety of qat consumption.
Meru County politicians are also threatening to mobilise qat farmers and the government to press for the closure of British army training bases and British-owned farms, on top of boycotting British imports.
"However, I hope it will not reach to this point," said Florence Kajuju, women's representative for Meru County in the National Assembly. "We have faith that British parliament will not [uphold the ban] when the time comes. We also hope our president will intervene by sending a trade delegation to meet [with] UK government officials."
Lawmakers are also petitioning the Kenyan government to change its stance on qat, as the National Campaign Against Drug Abuse Authority (NACADA) has listed qat as a narcotic.
On July 29th, Global Miraa Industry Dealers Network and Meru area politicians filed a motion in court to sue NACADA. The plaintiffs want qat to be classified as a crop and for lawmakers to enact legislation requiring the agricultural ministry to protect it.
Displeased by the federal government's reluctance to intervene, lawmakers have set up a 29-member committee to investigate the health effects of qat and the economic impact in Meru where the stimulant is grown.
"We will investigate all matters relating to qat thoroughly," Kajuju told Sabahi. "We shall leave no stone unturned and I promise we shall consider and review all research findings and make recommendations to the House within 90 days."
Qat trade creates security challenges
Security analysts and observers say an important and worrying factor underlies the debate about qat -- its trade generates large sums of unaccounted money.Such sums do not go through any legal banking system and create loopholes for the possible bankrolling of terrorism and extremism in the Horn of Africa, said Paul M. Taiti, a senior analyst at Nairobi Security Information Centre.
Extensive qat use by militias like al-Shabaab in Somalia and al-Qaeda in Yemen has given the stimulating twig a very bad reputation, he told Sabahi.
"There are always suspicions that are yet to be established connecting millions of dollars accruing from the miraa trade to funding terrorism networks in the Horn of Africa and north-west Africa," Taiti said. "This is why the EU and UK are uncomfortable with the whole qat trade."
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