A Mombasa High Court has declared the ban of shisha in Kenya unconstitutional, reports Nairobi Leo.
In a ruling on 28 March, Shanzu Law Courts Senior Principal Magistrate Joel Omido said there is no valid and lawful ban on the use, manufacture and sale of shisha in Kenya. He noted that the Cabinet Secretary for Health failed to regulate the Public Health (Control of Shisha Smoking) rules within nine months as directed by the Court in 2017, the report said.
“Having already reached the finding that there is no valid and/or lawful ban for the use, manufacture, sale, offer for sale of shisha under the Public Health (Control of Shisha Smoking) Rules, 2017 for the reason that the said rules were not regularized by the Cabinet Secretary within nine (9) months as ordered and/or directed by the High Court, it follows that there are no valid charges in any of the consolidated files before me,” Omido said.
The senior Principal Magistrate released 48 individuals who had been arrested in January 2024 for selling and smoking shisha. Omido declared that the detainees were held illegally because the charges against them were non-existent, meaning no conviction could result from such charges.