A Kenyan court has refused to grant the country's small Rastafarian community the right to smoke marijuana on religious grounds. The High Court in Nairobi ruled that the community had failed to demonstrate during the hearing that marijuana was a necessary part of their religious practice, and therefore did not grant them the right to bypass the nation's strict narcotics laws.
Members of the minority religious group had been pushing Kenyan courts since 2021 for legal permission to use cannabis as part of what they term religious meditation. They argued that such use should be protected under their constitutional rights to freedom of religion. However, Judge Bahati Mwamuye stated that while all witnesses "agreed that cannabis is used as a sacrament, they could not agree on whether its use is essential or merely preferred."
The community's lawyer, Shadrack Wambui, indicated that they plan to appeal the decision. Despite ruling against the specific case on Wednesday, Judge Mwamuye suggested that Kenya should hold a wider national debate on its drug policy. He emphasized that "this is not just a question for the Rastafari community but one that cuts across society."
The judge further commented on the widespread use of cannabis in Kenya, stating, "It is beyond dispute that the use of cannabis in this country has become ubiquitous and has arguably been so for many decades." He even quoted from Peter Tosh's reggae song "Legalize It," noting that "judges smoke it, even lawyers do." Mwamuye described the current situation as "untenable" and argued there should be "a full and frank conversation on cannabis and which direction we should take."
Kenya's strict narcotics laws have many roots tracing back to legislation from the former colonial power, the United Kingdom, in the early 20th century. Rastafarianism, which formed in Jamaica in the 1930s, is generally understood to be based on an interpretation of the Christian Bible. The movement historically held a strong affiliation with resistance to colonial culture and British rule, and was heavily influenced by Ethiopianism and the Back-to-Africa movement. Its veneration of former Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie has given the movement particular ties to East Africa. The tradition of wearing dreadlocks also resonates in parts of Kenya, as many Mau Mau fighters, who opposed British colonial rule in the 1950s and 60s, also wore them.
Rastafaris are a minority religion in Kenya, with no official data available on their prevalence or numbers. However, the East African country effectively recognized the movement as a religion in 2019 when a court ruled that expelling a school pupil because of her dreadlocks had violated her religious rights. Last August, the community opened its first temple in the Nairobi area.
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