The Constitutional Court in Kampala has nullified the entire Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Control Act of 2016, which had been put in place to ban several drugs, including the psychoactive drug, Catha edulis (khat) commonly known in Uganda as Miraa or Mairungi, on grounds that it is a prohibited plant.
The decision was reached after a 2017 petition filed by the Wakiso Miraa Growers and Dealers Association Limited against the Attorney General was unanimously allowed by the five Justices comprising of the Deputy Chief Justice Richard Buteera, Stephen Musota, Muzamiru Mutangula Kibeedi, Irene Mulyagonja, and Monica Mugyenyi.
The petitioners challenged the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Control Act for prohibiting and criminalizing the cultivation, possession, consumption, sale, distribution, transportation, and exportation of Catha edulis, arguing that the prohibition was not backed up by any scientific evidence yet had a disruptive effect on the livelihood, property, cultural, and socio-economic rights of the petitioners who are Mairungi farmers, sellers, and consumers.
The Justices have been in agreement with the Mairungi farmers that the process of passing the bill was flawed as the required number of MPs was not attained on November 19th, 2015, when the bill was passed, and the Deputy Speaker did not take it upon himself to ascertain the existence of the required quorum.
As such, the Justices have ruled that the Parliament breached its own rules of procedure as the existence of quorum at the voting stage means the bill receives the majority or sufficient number of votes to be lawfully passed.
Consequently, the Justices have declared the Narcotics and Psychotropic Substances Control Act of 2016 as null and void, and the government has been ordered to pay the farmers costs they have spent on this petition.
One of the lawyers of the petitioners has indicated that effective today, the police should stop arresting people in possession of drugs and narcotics classified under the Act, which has been nullified. He added that the Director of Public Prosecutions should also stop prosecuting people found in possession of such drugs.
The dependency on this once-prohibited crop has been explained by Vincent Kizito, the Chairperson of Wakiso Miraa Growers and Dealers Association Limited, who says that the crop should be treated as a delicacy as it is a source of their family incomes and their children's school fees.
