UK rejects Kenya’s petition for review of miraa ban

Hopes for Kenya to resume selling
miraa (khat) in the United
Kingdom dimmed after the British
High Commission insisted that the
ban will not be reviewed.
In a statement Thursday, the Head
of Communications at the British
High Commission in Nairobi
Stephen Burns said the ban comes
into effect on June 24, 2014.
“This decision was in no way
targeted at Kenya directly. The UK
Government has had a long-
standing intention to review the
legal status of miraa.
“As the Home Secretary set out in
July 2013, this decision was not
taken lightly and the UK
recognised the economic
implications for a number of
countries, predominantly in the
Horn of Africa and the Arabian
Peninsula,” the statement read.
Mr Burns said the British
Government was aware of
economic impact the ban will have
in Kenya.
He said the UK Government will
give Kenya aid to support economic
growth.
He said the ban followed the
British Parliament’s approval of
the Government’s decision to
reclassify miraa as a Class C drug.
He said the UK is one of the last
countries to reclassify miraa, with
the majority of other EU member
states already having done so, as
well as most of the G8 countries
including Canada and the USA.
“That the UK is at serious risk of
becoming a regional hub – with
evidence already suggesting that
the UK is being used as a transit
hub for onward illegal miraa
trafficking to the Netherlands
(where miraa was banned in
January),” Mr Burns said.
The stand by the British
Government comes days after
President Uhuru Kenyatta pledged
to intervene to have the ban
reviewed.
Speaking in Meru County,
President Kenyatta said the
Government was committed to
saving their source of livelihood.
Former Prime Minister Raila
Odinga also petitioned the British
Government to review the ban on
miraa .
Mr Odinga wrote to British Prime
Minister David Cameron last Friday
asking him to extend the deadline.