Kenya’s High Court has dismissed a constitutional challenge by a Rastafarian group seeking to legalise the use of cannabis for religious purposes.
The court ruled that the group failed to prove the country’s cannabis laws violate constitutional rights to freedom of religion and belief, while noting the need for broader national discussion on the issue.
Cannabis remains illegal in Kenya, with offenders facing fines and prison sentences for possession, cultivation and trafficking.
Kenya’s small Rastafarian community was seeking legal permission to smoke marijuana under the constitutional right to freedom of religion. The judge found they did not show it to be a necessary part of their worship.
Rastafarians, who often use cannabis as part of what they term religious meditation, had been pushing the Kenyan courts to grant them permission to use the herb since 2021.
They argued it should be protected under their constitutional rights to freedom of religion.
What did the court decide?
The Kenyan High Court in Nairobi ruled that the community had failed to demonstrate during the hearing that marijuana was a necessary part of their religious practice, and so did not grant them the right to bypass the country’s drug laws.
While all witnesses “agreed that cannabis is used as a sacrament, they could not agree on whether its use is essential or merely preferred,” Judge Bahati Mwamuye said.
The community’s lawyer, Shadrack Wambui said they planned to appeal the decision.
