Raila Odinga’s lawyer Paul Mwangi has gone to court challenging the legality of the government directive to lift a ban on GMO products. The lawyer terms the move move to lift the 10 year ban as unconstitutional and a threat to the nation’s food security.

This comes just days after Azimio la Umoja- One Kenya Alliance top brass led by the party leader Raila Odinga and principal Kalonzo Musyoka came out to condemn the move.

President Ruto had lifted the ban in a bid to alleviate the high cost of living by availing cheap GMO imports. The government also aims at introducing fast growing, drought resistant, pest resistant and high yield food crops  amid the ravaging drought.

The lawyer claims that lifting of the ban is not in good faith as the 2012 ban had not barred the use of biotechnology in crop and animal production, but rather closed the door on the introduction of foods not tested by local regulatory agencies.

He continues that the ban in 2012 wanted to put a safeguard on foods consumed by kenyans by preventing introduction of foods not tested by local regulatory agencies. this has even paved way for the development of BT cotton as a cash crop in 2016 on trial basis and genetically modified cassava as food crop in 2021 that is still undergoing trials in Kilifi, Murang’a and Busia counties.

The petitioner also claimed Kenya risks the danger of having crops developed using genetic use restriction technology gurt; a technology where seeds once grown commit suicide and are thereby unable to be used again to be resown to germinate into a new crop. This to create a dependency on buying of fresh seeds every planting cycle. This he claimed that will make the nation dependent on other nations which can be a risk to sovereignty.