NAIROBI, Kenya – The High Court has dismissed a petition by members of Kenya’s Rastafarian community seeking legal recognition of cannabis use as part of their religious practice, ruling that they failed to prove the country’s drug laws violate their constitutional rights.
In a judgment delivered on Wednesday, Justice Bahati Mwamuye found that the petitioners had not demonstrated that the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (Control) Act infringes on the constitutional freedoms of religion, conscience and belief.
The court held that the petitioners did not provide sufficient evidence to show that the criminalisation of cannabis substantially interferes with the practice of the Rastafarian faith or that the law itself is unconstitutional.
Justice Mwamuye further ruled that Kenya’s existing laws prohibiting the cultivation, possession and use of cannabis remain valid and enforceable.
He noted that any exemption permitting cannabis use for religious purposes would require a firm constitutional and legal basis, which the petitioners failed to establish.
The ruling means the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (Control) Act remains fully in force, with no exemption for religious use of cannabis.
Members of the Rastafarian community will therefore continue to be subject to the country’s existing drug laws.
While dismissing the petition, the judge observed that the issue of cannabis policy deserves broader public discussion.
“We ought to have frank conversations on cannabis and which direction we should take,” Justice Mwamuye said.
The decision is a significant setback for the Rastafarian community, which had asked the court to recognise cannabis as a sacrament central to its religious beliefs and shield its members from criminal prosecution for its use.
The judgment leaves any potential changes to Kenya’s cannabis laws in the hands of lawmakers or future constitutional challenges supported by stronger legal and factual grounds.
