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Agriculture and Livestock Cabinet Secretary Mithika Linturi yesterday questioned why the National Authority for the Campaign Against Drug Abuse (NACADA) has been classifying miraa as a drug instead of a crop.

Linturi charged that ‘khat’ famously known as ‘miraa’, and its variant ‘muguka’, have been recognized as a crop by various laws in the country, particularly, the Crop Act, 2013.

“There is no way Nacada, a government agency, can hold a different position from other government bodies. Nacada is very rogue for permanently giving inconsistent positions regarding miraa,” said Linturi.

Yesterday, Linturi while appearing before the Senate’s committee on Delegated Legislation chaired by Tharaka Nithi lawmaker Mwenda Gataya, accused Nacada former Chief Executive Officer Victor Okioma of contradicting his predecessors and the government.

Miraa not drug

According to Linturi, former Nacada Chairman and renowned psychiatrist Dr Frank Njenga and former Naivasha MP John Mututho said miraa is not a drug and its sale can be authorized but the inconsistencies are brought about by Okioma.

“Njenga and Mututho had in the past agreed that miraa is a crop and not a drug. We have fought to have miraa recognised as a crop that has been long-drawn and it is unfortunate that the current Nacada office holders are contradicting their predecessors.”

Linturi argued that the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act relied upon by Nacada only classifies cathinone and cathine, extracts of the crop, as a drug but not miraa in its natural form.

“We have gone through a lot to see two chemicals found in miraa, cathinone and cathine, removed from being classified as a drug in our laws and the issues have been addressed,” said Linturi.

Linturi’s concerns come after Nacada in May listed miraa among the top drugs of abuse in the country together with alcohol and tobacco among 15-65-year-olds, with miraa or muguka users being more than 960,000 people.

Substance addiction

According to Okioma, miraa is a drug that “is responsible for many substance use disorders” as it contains psychotropic substances that make people addicted, adding that the agency would oppose attempts to have miraa value-added products such as juice and wine.

“The position of Nacada is that miraa is harmful and muguka is even more harmful. This is why we are discouraging the expansion of markets and are against attempts to process it into juices and wine. Unless they have found a way of removing the harmful constituents, we will oppose it,” said Okioma.

He went on: “There are people who are in rehabilitation centers for use of miraa. However, the most problematic ‘khat’ is the type known as ‘muguka’.”

However, Linturi said President William Ruto’s government holds a different view and has embarked on a vigorous campaign to market the miraa as a crop. He explained that the government is keen on opening new markets for miraa and even recently sent a delegation to Ethiopia, Yemen and Israel to explore available markets for miraa before the ongoing war broke out.

“The government has even set aside Sh130million to support miraa farmers as we explore new markets for them. We settled the issue with NACADA. To us, this must be good news to the people of Meru, Embu, Tharaka Nithi and any other farmer growing miraa. We will sensitize farmers to the regulations of miraa,” said the Linturi

He said in April, President Ruto was in Igembe North and one of his commitments was that he would help in the expansion of the miraa markets. The visit by the President came a few months after the National Assembly passed the Miraa Regulations 2023 aimed at guiding the production, processing and marketing of the produce.