NAIROBI, Kenya — The High Court has temporarily halted the implementation of the controversial Fisheries Management and Development (Aquaculture) Regulations, 2024, following a constitutional petition filed by the Lake Victoria Aquaculture Association (LVA).
Justice E.C. Mwita issued a conservatory order suspending the regulations, initially set to take effect on January 1, 2025, until February 10, 2025.
The directive came as part of an ongoing legal battle over the regulations, which aquaculture stakeholders argue could devastate the industry.
The regulations, gazetted by the Cabinet Secretary for Mining, Blue Economy, and Maritime Affairs, Ali Hassan Joho, through Legal Notice No. 126, include a licensing fee of Sh50,000 for aquaculture establishments operating in public waters and a 5% ad valorem fee on the value of landed fish.
The LVA claims these charges are prohibitively high and would increase operational costs, ultimately driving up the price of fish for Kenyan consumers.
The association warns that the regulations could lead to significant job losses in a sector that employs more than 100,000 people and supports over 500,000 households.
In their petition, the LVA argues that the fees are discriminatory and fail to account for the scale of various aquaculture enterprises, many of which are small-scale operations employing women and youth.
Pete Ondeng, the LVA Board Secretary, noted in a sworn affidavit that the Cabinet Secretary failed to conduct public participation before gazetting the regulations, a step the petitioners insist is constitutionally mandated.
“The new regulations undermine Kenya’s food security objectives by making the cost of fish production unsustainably high,” Ondeng stated, adding that the fees are “incompatible with the realities of small-scale aquaculture enterprises.”
Justice Mwita has directed that the respondents—including the Cabinet Secretary for Mining and the Attorney General—file their responses within 14 days of service.
The petitioner will have a subsequent 14 days to file any supplementary affidavits and written submissions.
The court will provide further directions on the case on February 10, 2025, marking the next step in the legal challenge to the regulations.
The petitioners are seeking a court declaration that the licensing and ad valorem fees are unconstitutional and discriminatory.
They have also requested a temporary order barring the implementation of the regulations until the matter is fully heard and determined.
The aquaculture industry remains a crucial pillar of Kenya’s food security and economic development, and stakeholders hope the court will strike down measures they deem detrimental to its survival.
Justice E.C. Mwita issued a conservatory order suspending the regulations, initially set to take effect on January 1, 2025, until February 10, 2025.
The directive came as part of an ongoing legal battle over the regulations, which aquaculture stakeholders argue could devastate the industry.
The regulations, gazetted by the Cabinet Secretary for Mining, Blue Economy, and Maritime Affairs, Ali Hassan Joho, through Legal Notice No. 126, include a licensing fee of Sh50,000 for aquaculture establishments operating in public waters and a 5% ad valorem fee on the value of landed fish.
The LVA claims these charges are prohibitively high and would increase operational costs, ultimately driving up the price of fish for Kenyan consumers.
The association warns that the regulations could lead to significant job losses in a sector that employs more than 100,000 people and supports over 500,000 households.
In their petition, the LVA argues that the fees are discriminatory and fail to account for the scale of various aquaculture enterprises, many of which are small-scale operations employing women and youth.
Pete Ondeng, the LVA Board Secretary, noted in a sworn affidavit that the Cabinet Secretary failed to conduct public participation before gazetting the regulations, a step the petitioners insist is constitutionally mandated.
“The new regulations undermine Kenya’s food security objectives by making the cost of fish production unsustainably high,” Ondeng stated, adding that the fees are “incompatible with the realities of small-scale aquaculture enterprises.”
Justice Mwita has directed that the respondents—including the Cabinet Secretary for Mining and the Attorney General—file their responses within 14 days of service.
The petitioner will have a subsequent 14 days to file any supplementary affidavits and written submissions.
The court will provide further directions on the case on February 10, 2025, marking the next step in the legal challenge to the regulations.
The petitioners are seeking a court declaration that the licensing and ad valorem fees are unconstitutional and discriminatory.
They have also requested a temporary order barring the implementation of the regulations until the matter is fully heard and determined.
The aquaculture industry remains a crucial pillar of Kenya’s food security and economic development, and stakeholders hope the court will strike down measures they deem detrimental to its survival.
