Story perspectives

Kenyan Judge Dismisses Rastafari Religious Cannabis Petition

7/16/2026

Summary

Mwamuye Dismisses Cannabis Petition

Kenya Court Justice Bahati Mwamuye dismissed the Rastafari Society’s petition to legalise cannabis religiously.
She said group failed to prove Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (Control) Act breaches constitutional religious freedom.
Possession of cannabis can lead to five years’ jail or an $800 fine.
Cultivation of cannabis can lead to 20 years’ jail or a $1,900 fine.
She urged a cannabis debate and said lawyer Danstan Omari will appeal.

Summary

Court Dismisses

The court dismissed the petition for a religious cannabis exemption, citing health-risk evidence from the National Authority for the Control of Drugs (NACADA).
Community leaders warned the dismissal could revive police profiling of Rastafarians, including diaspora and dual-citizen members, while the court barred raw cannabis in the courtroom, allowing only digital photographs.
The judgment referenced South Africa’s 2018 decriminalization and noted neighboring countries’ industrial-hemp projects, highlighting Kenya’s stricter stance.

History

Historical Context

After the Supreme Court’s 1990 8-1 decision in Employment Division v. Smith, which held that neutral, generally applicable laws need not accommodate religious peyote use, Congress passed the Religious Freedom Restoration Act in 1993 and re-enacted it in 2000. Kenyan Justice Bahati Mwamuye cited Smith when rejecting the Rastafari Society’s cannabis-religion petition, leaving Kenya’s five-year possession penalty unchanged.

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Mwamuye Dismisses Cannabis Petition

Kenya Court Justice Bahati Mwamuye dismissed the Rastafari Society’s petition to legalise cannabis religiously.
She said group failed to prove Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (Control) Act breaches constitutional religious freedom.
Possession of cannabis can lead to five years’ jail or an $800 fine.
Cultivation of cannabis can lead to 20 years’ jail or a $1,900 fine.
She urged a cannabis debate and said lawyer Danstan Omari will appeal.

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