The Court of Appeal has issued an order blocking the government from taking any further action to permit the importation of genetically modified (GMO) crops and foods into the country.
Appellate judges Patrick Kiage, Weldon Korir and Joel Ngugi issued the order following an appeal filed by advocate Paul Mwangi and Kenya Peasants League.
The court said the government, in particular the Attorney General, CS Agriculture, CS Education, National Biosafety Authority, the Cabinet, Ministry of Health and the Association of Kenya Feeds Manufacturers should not take any further action to advance the contents of the dispatch from the Cabinet dated October 3, 2022, that lifted the ban on GMO foods.
"We are persuaded that the public interest is served by issuing limited conservatory orders aimed at, or serving the status quo while being sensitive to the policy issues," the bench said.
The judges ruled that given the stakes involved, it was prudent to issue the order pending the determination of the appeal.
Failure to grant the order, they explained, would lead to the unrestricted cultivation and importation of GMO foods—actions at the heart of the petitions before the court.
The court also considered the broader impact, noting that widespread adoption of GMO crops would disrupt food production and that regulating GMOs afterwards would be challenging.
"Further, once farmers adopt GMO crops, removing them from supply chains is challenging while controlling seed distribution would be impossible at scale," the judges said.
The appeal before court stems from a decision by High Court Judge Lawrence Mugambi last year.
Mugambi dismissed the matter filed by the petitioners saying the issues had already been dealt with by the Environment and Lands Court in 2023.
The judge in his decision said the Lands court had 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.
Mwangi, one of the petitioners, argued that the decision to lift the ban violated the rights of small-scale farmers and consumers and that there was no public participation.
But Mugambi in referencing the Lands court decision said the government had put in place safety measures to address the concerns raised by the petitioners.
Environment and Lands Court Judge Oscar Angote in 2023 called on Kenyans to trust their own government institutions on matters of health even as he dismissed a case challenging the cultivation and importation of GMO crops.
He said said no evidence has been brought before court to show that state agencies have breached the laws and guidelines pertaining to GMO food, and in particular the approval of the release in the environment, cultivation, importation, and exportation of GMO maize.
