British MPs back sale of miraa

Miraa farmer, Ms Jennifer Kathure, picks some miraa leaves in her farm in Laare area of Igembe North on October 9, 2013. British MPs have asked their Government to reverse its ban on miraa imports. PHOTO | FILE 

In Summary

• The 16-member committee chaired by  Labour Party’s Leicester East member Keith Vaz says the ban would create a flourishing black market which would raise prices that could in turn breed organised crime
• It says the ban could deny the £ 2.5 million pounds (Ksh 360 million) in tax revenues. The committee acknowledged that potential loss of jobs in Meru could lead to more youth joining the dreaded Al-Shabaab militia

By BILLY MUIRURI
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British MPs have asked their Government to reverse its ban on miraa imports.

They said the ban was likely to hurt already marginalised groups and disputed the claim of a link between miraa users and criminal activities in the UK.

“Consumption of khat is confined to specific communities from Somalia, Ethiopia, Yemen and Kenya. Enforcing the ban will involve policing an activity that is carried out by a very small proportion of the population all who belong to two or three diaspora communities,” said the House of Common’s  Home Affairs Committee, in a report which suggests there is too much ado about nothing in the proposed ban by Home Secretary Theresa May.

The 16-member committee chaired by  Labour Party’s Leicester East member Keith Vaz says the ban would create a flourishing black market which would raise prices that could in turn breed organised crime.

The report, which is yet to be debated in the House of Commons, says the ban would lead to more public funds being used to enforce the law than to address the social and medical harms of chewing khat.

It says the ban could deny the £ 2.5 million pounds (Ksh 360 million) in tax revenues. The committee acknowledged that potential loss of jobs in Meru could lead to more youth joining the dreaded Al-Shabaab militia.

The report seems to have  adopted a critical presentation by the Adhoc Committee on miraa of the  Kenyan Parliament chaired by Meru Women Representative Florence Kajuju, whose team met the UK committee on November 19  last year and asked the British government to rescind the decision.

On Friday, Ms Kajuju welcomed the verdict of the UK Parliament.

“It is a positive feedback. We had a candid interaction with our counterparts and they seemed to understand that the ban is not as simple as Ms May had thought,” said Ms Kajuju.