Kilifi Governor Gideon Mung’aro has banned the entry, transportation, distribution, sale, and use of khat – popularly known as muguka – within the county. Governor Mung’aro noted that motor vehicles transporting the product shall not be given entry into the county.
The Kilifi governor has directed multi-agency bodies to swing into action and enforce the order, warning that any officer who colludes with culprits will face the law.
“In exercise of the powers conferred in Section 30(2)(1) of the County Government Act and all other enabling laws of Kenya, I, Gideon Maitha Mung’aro, Governor of Kilifi County, hereby order and direct as that there be a total prohibition on the entry, transportation, distribution, sale, and use of muguka and its products within Kilifi County,” Mung’aro said in a statement.
“All outlets, whether in the form of retail or wholesale, selling and/or distributing muguka within Kilifi County be closed immediately and/or stop the sale of muguka and its products.”
The directive comes a day after his Mombasa counterpart, Abdulswamad Nassir, issued the same order that will also see all muguka outlets in the county closed. Nassir stated that muguka traders have ignored laws put in place to safeguard children from the drug’s influence, with some even going as far as selling the drug to minors.
The Mombasa governor highlighted the detrimental effects of muguka consumption on people’s health.
“We have tried to come up with regulations so that users and the larger community can co-exist but they have refused refused and for this reason I have consulted legally and found my decree to be in order,” said Nassir.
“I have signed an executive order to ban the entry of muguka into Mombasa and to ban the sale and consumption of mugoka into Mombasa.”
“The basis is that the levels of cathine and cathinone in muguka is very high level. An average of about 20 leaves is enough to make someone have toxic imaginations. Imagine a child consuming this during school hours,” he said.