National Dialogue in Kenya on Marijuana

Kenyan courts rejected on Monday a petition filed by the country’s Rastafarian religious community seeking permission to freely consume cannabis as part of their religious practices, while simultaneously calling for a national debate on the drug.

Kenyan law stipulates that possession of cannabis for personal use is punishable by up to ten years in prison and a hefty fine.

In 2021, Rastafarians in Kenya filed a lawsuit challenging the law on constitutional grounds, arguing that it violated their freedom of religion.

Judge Bahati Mawathe dismissed the requests “in their entirety,” ruling, as reported by the Agence France-Presse (AFP) on Monday, that the petitioners failed to prove that the law infringed upon their religious freedom. He called for a national discussion on cannabis policy, citing its widespread prevalence in the country.

Speaking via video link to the plaintiffs, who were present at a Nairobi court, Mawathe said, “The widespread use of cannabis cannot be denied” in Kenya, and that “maintaining the status quo appears unsustainable.”

Shadrack Wambui, a lawyer for the Rastafarian Association in Kenya, which filed the lawsuit, told journalists that the association would appeal the decision.