Why court dismissed case challenging lifting ban on GMO foods
Genetically modified maize.
What you need to know:
- In October 2022, the Cabinet lifted a 10-year ban imposed on biotechnology foods.
- Petitioners had questioned the safety of GMOs to human, animals and the environment.
The High Court has dismissed several petitions challenging the lifting the ban on genetically-modified organisms (GMO) food, saying the matter had been dealt with by the Environment and Land court in 2023.
In a dispatch in October 2022, the Cabinet lifted a 10-year ban imposed on biotechnology foods sparking a number of court cases, over fears that the importation of GMO foods might be harmful to human health, animals, the environment and biodiversity.
Among the petitioners were lawyer Paul Mwangi, who argued that the decision to lift the ban was hurried, without public participation and in violation of the rights of small-scale farmers and consumers.
The lawyer submitted that the lifting of the ban would lead to the disappearance of indigenous seeds and pave the way for the commercial practice of protecting patent rights of the GMO seeds.
Justice Lawrence Mugambi, however, said the Environment and Land court dealt with the matter in 2023, ruling that the government had put in place safety measures to address the concerns raised by the petitioners.
In a ruling in October 2023, Justice Oscar Angote said the country had put in place robust biosafety regulatory framework, with inbuilt structures that must be met before the importation or cultivation of GMO crops.
“In view of the above, the court hereby finds that the current petition is res judicata. The same is struck out with no order as to costs,” Justice Mugambi said.
Mr Mwangi said of particular concern was the imminent introduction into the country of crops developed using genetic use restriction technology (GURT), which is a technology involving the insertion of what is known as a terminator gene’ into seeds so that upon germination, the seeds ‘commit suicide’.
He said the harvest is incapable of being re-sown and cannot germinate into new crop.
GMOs were banned by former president Mwai Kibaki’s administration in 2012 and the ban remained in force under his successor Uhuru Kenyatta but was lifted by the Kenya Kwanza administration through a cabinet dispatch on October 3, and gazetted on October 26, 2022.
While lifting the ban, the government said the move would address the high cost of food in the country.
Researchers in the country have been experimenting with GMO maize variety that can withstand drought and insect stress.
In the ruling, Justice Mugambi said the Environment and Land court considered the implication of the lifting of the ban and the safety measures put in place and concluded that the laws in place were in harmony with the need for a clean and healthy environment.
The judge added that the Environment and Land court enjoys the same status of the High Court and having dealt with the matter, the High Court cannot be asked to address the same issues.
In the judgement in 2023, Justice Angote stated that the country has put in place robust biosafety regulatory framework, with inbuilt structures that must be met before the importation or cultivation of GMO crops.
Justice Angote said the Biosafety Act stipulates the National Biosafety Authority (NBA), in close collaboration with the department of public health, which safeguards the health of consumers through food safety and quality control, surveillance, prevention and control of food borne diseases.
According to the government, the cost of farm inputs, in particular fertiliser and animal feeds, have made farming expensive leading to both reductions of planted acreage and yield per acre. All these informed the lifting of the ban, the court heard.
The court further heard that studies done had concluded that GM foods available on the international market have undergone rigorous risk assessments and are therefore unlikely to pose risks for human health, compared to their conventional counterparts.
