The Environment and Land Court has dismissed a case challenging the release and planting of Genetically Modified maize (GMO).
According to the ruling, the petitioners did not offer enough evidence to show that the exercise would cause harm to the environment or human life.
The move to lift ban on GMO has been a contentious issue among Kenyan leaders despite President William Ruto maintaining that it was safe for consumption.
Originally, the ban on the importation of GMO products in Kenya was imposed on November 2012 by the then Health Cabinet Secretary Beth Mugo.
The ban prohibiting the open cultivation of genetically modified crops and the importation of food crops and animal feeds.
Why was GMO Banned in Kenya by Court?
The ban imposed in 2012 was based on research done in France by a publication that linked GMO products to cancer.
Mugo ordered Public Health Officials to remove all genetically modified (GMO) foods from the market and enforce a ban on GM imports.
However, the publication was discredited, and the study removed from the publishing journal.
Also Read: High Court Temporarily Bars Government from Importing GMO Crops
Ruto Lifts the Ban Several Years Later
In October 2022, a cabinet memo noted that President William Ruto had lifted the 2012 ban on GMO foods after a recommendation by a Task Force that had been formed to Review GMO and food safety matters in the country.
Subsequently, the memo allowed the open cultivation and importation of White (GMO) maize in the country.
“In fidelity with the guidelines of the National Biosafety Authority on all applicable international treaties including the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety (CPB), Cabinet vacated its earlier decision of November 8, 2012, prohibiting the open cultivation of genetically modified crops and the importation of food crops and animal feeds produced through biotechnology innovations.
“The Cabinet has effectively lifted the ban on Genetically Modified Crops,” the memo read in part.
Also Read: A Section of MPs Against the Plan to Import GMO Maize
Ruto on Being a Scientist
At the same time, when the GMO issue resurfaced in January 2023 during a live interview, President Ruto defended his move to lift the ban insisting that it was safe for consumption.
Additionally, Ruto noted that all the imported food in the country had GMO components but only with a on percentage as allowed by the Kenya bureau of standards (KEBS).
Ruto also argued that the products were cheaper to purchase adding that he was a scientist himself and would not endanger the lives of Kenyans.
“I cannot put at risk the lives of the people who elected me. I am a scientist, all the scientists in the country are in agreement that GMO has no effects,” he stated.
