Thursday, May 25, 2023 –Court of Appeal has dealt a big blow to plans by Kenya Kwanza government to import Genetically Modified Organism GMO maize into the country.
Ruto’s administration had threatened to bring in the Western-made maize supplies as part of its efforts to stabilise food availability in the country.
But on Thursday May 25, government lost the case which had been filed by Office of the Attorney General seeking node to make the imports.
“Applicant must establish the first two aspects, that is, the arguability test and the nugatory aspect,” the court ruling read in part.
The judge added that the public interest in the matter was of substantial weight and ought to be given a chance first.
“The public interest test was not meant to stand alone or replace either of the two tests. In our opinion, the Supreme Court introducing the public interest consideration did not dislodge the other considerations.
“See in Law Society of Kenya v Bloggers Association of Kenya & 6 Others (2020) eKLR. In the end, we find no merit in the application as the applicants did not satisfy us on all three limbs,” went on the ruling.
AG Justine Muturi, on December 23, moved to the Court of Appeal seeking orders to lift ban on importation of GMO food into the country.
The verdict to ban the GMO was made at the High Court level in March 2023 when Coalition of Civil Society groups filed the case.
Raila, together with his opposition team, had maintained that GMO maize would harm Kenyans since its composition is not safe for human use.
On the other hand, government side would term Raila’s sentiments as misinformation deliberately made for political reasons.
