The High Court has blocked the Kenyan government’s proposal to contract Zambian farmers to cultivate maize for exclusive export to Kenya.
High Court Judge Mugure Thande issued the injunction preventing Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Mithika Linturi from effecting the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Kenya and Zambia to grow maize in Zambia for sale to Kenya.
The Farmers Party of Kenya claims in a Certificate of Urgency filed on Wednesday, April 12, 2023, that the Kenyan government’s decision to contract Zambian farmers was “unreasonable, irrational, and illegal, and in gross violation of the Kenyan Constitution.”
“After considering the principles for grant of conservatory orders at the exparte stage, I find that the orders sought in application are merited. Accordingly, I do grant prayers 2 of the application,” ordered Justice Thande.
The judge further ordered that the case be heard on May 16, 2023.
The judge’s ruling came in the midst of a heated debate when Agriculture CS Linturi signed a MoU with his Zambian colleague Mtolo Phiri in March 2023 for large-scale maize planting in Zambia for sale to Kenya.
Linturi explained that the project was part of the government’s long-term strategy to combat food insecurity in the country.
