The Member of Parliament (MP) of Kilifi North wants the government to ban muguka and miraa in Kenya and has already filed a notice with the Speaker of the National A*sembly;
MP Owen Baya, who is from one of the coastal counties that included Mombasa and Taita Taveta, which recently sought to ban the a*******e s********s before the court halted the move, now wants the entire country to cla*sify the d***s as dangerous controlled substances.
“The difference between muguka and miraa is in the levels of cathine and cathinone, which are higher in muguka. Therefore, miraa should not be specifi*d as a scheduled crop as it contains harmful substances,” said Baya in the notice.
Through the bi*l, the MP seeks to amend the Crops Act 2022 and repeal the Miraa regulations, 2023, to remove muguka and miraa from the list of scheduled crops and make its possession a cr*me punishable with jail time and thousands of shi*lings in fines.
The d***s, popularly known as jaba in the streets, according to the MP, should also be cla*sifi*d as p****otropic substances in the N******c D***s and P****otropic Substances (Control) Act 2022 because of their mind-altering effects.
“Muguka or miraa is one of the d***s highly a****d by the youth, and stud**s show that cr*me rates and anti-social behaviours are significantly higher after initiation of the substance use.
“By introducing the amendment, there wi*l be more control on the production and consumption of the substance,” said Baya, who is also the Deputy Majority Leader in the National A*sembly.
The conversation to ban muguka and miraa started in Mombasa on May 22 when Governor Abdulswamad Sheriff Na*sir, through Executive Order No. 1 of 2024, directed their sale, distribution and use to stop within its territory and vehicles carrying the same from producer counties, which is mainly Embu and Meru, were not allowed to enter the county.
While issuing the now-suspended directive to ban the d***s, the Governor also complained about their widespread damage, especially to the younger generation in the coastal region, and said that keeping it out of the hands of kids is his top policy priority.
