Muguka. Photo | courtesy.
Doubts have risen over the future of muguka in Kenya, following the tabling of the anti-muguka bill in the national assembly by Kilifi North Mp Owen Baya. This bill seeks to eliminate muguka from the list of designated crops.
According to the proposed amendment of the Crops Act, Cap 318, Muguka is to be differentiated from Miraa (khat), a move that could jeopardize its status and leave it vulnerable to prohibition.
Some of the downsides associated with Muguka include dependence, increased blood pressure, impaired sexual potency in men, and insomnia, among others. These concerns were among the reasons that, on May 22, 2024, intensified complaints from coastal counties, specifically Mombasa, Kilifi, and Taita Taveta, calling for its ban.
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If muguka is delisted from scheduled crops, meaning loosing it’s subsidies and regulatory support. It will have economic repercussion. The anti-muguka bill will disrupt the livelihoods of more than 65,000 farmers in Embu where muguka farming contributes to a Sh22 billion to the economy .
Furthermore, counties like Mombasa are on the verge of loosing Sh302 million per month translating to about Sh3.63 billion annually that the county collects as revenue from the benefits from the transport levies and market fees.
In the midst of the heated debate, the fate of many hangs in the balance as many await the final decision of Parliament on whether it will uphold the delisting of Muguka or safeguard its place in the agricultural economy.
