NAIROBI, Kenya – The future of muguka, a stimulant crop at the heart of a Sh22 billion economy in Embu County, now hangs in the balance as Parliament considers legislation to strip it of State recognition and protection.
The proposed law, dubbed the Anti-Muguka Bill, seeks to amend the Crops Act to officially differentiate muguka from its close cousin miraa, and in doing so, exclude it from the list of scheduled crops recognised under Kenyan law.
Tabled by Kilifi North MP Owen Baya, the Bill could mark a turning point in the ongoing national debate over muguka’s legality, health impact, and economic role.
If passed, it would leave the crop vulnerable to bans and restrictions by county governments — a move already favoured by coastal leaders and public health advocates.
“The principal object of the Bill is to amend the Crops Act Cap 318 to differentiate muguka from miraa and therefore expressly exclude muguka from being a scheduled crop,” the proposal states.
Scheduled crops are entitled to government support, including certification, marketing structures, research funding, and agricultural subsidies.
Removal from this list would mean the national government is no longer obligated to protect or promote the crop.
The move reignites tensions between producer and consumer counties.
In Embu, over 65,000 farmers rely on muguka cultivation, which has become a critical driver of the local economy.
County officials say delisting the crop would threaten livelihoods and disrupt rural incomes, not to mention the daily Sh1 million earned by counties like Mombasa in taxes and levies on muguka trade.
But elsewhere, the pressure to regulate or ban the crop is growing.
The National Authority for the Campaign Against Alcohol and Drug Abuse (NACADA) recently revealed that muguka use among children has dropped to as young as nine years, raising alarm over its easy availability and addictive properties.
Health professionals have also linked chronic muguka use to insomnia, hypertension, and sexual dysfunction in men.
Religious leaders and education stakeholders in the Coast have backed calls for a ban, describing muguka as a gateway to drug abuse.
Earlier attempts by Mombasa and Kilifi counties to outlaw muguka trade were blocked following a presidential directive affirming its legal status — a position that may now shift depending on the fate of this Bill.
If Parliament votes to delist muguka, counties would gain greater autonomy to regulate or outlaw it without conflicting with national policy.
