Tobacco farmers, processors, and consumers in Kenya have been spared from an attempt to label their products as illegal, after a court dismissed a document questioning the legality of production, manufacturing, and use.
Ibrahim Mahmoud, a stakeholder in the world's leading tobacco company British American Tobacco (BAT), is hoping to force the government to ban the entire production, supply, management, promotion, consumption, and use of tobacco products and cigarettes through his involvement in a lawsuit as a interested party.
He also hopes to declare cancer as a disease related to tobacco and a national disaster that requires special governmental action, including allocating special budgets for consideration and prohibiting tobacco products.
However, Judge Hedwig Ong'udi dismissed the application on the grounds that the petitioner failed to prove that the Tobacco Control Act and the 2014 Tobacco Control Regulations violated the legal provisions he had alleged.
Therefore, simply relying on his dissatisfaction with the use and legalization of tobacco products in Kenya is not enough. He should use evidence to prove how regulations and laws have violated the legal provisions he is complaining about," the judge said.
British American Tobacco is one of the companies with the highest dividends on the Nairobi Securities Exchange. The company has stated that this document threatens its right to conduct legitimate business.
This is because the petitioner is seeking the complete restriction of the manufacture and sale of tobacco products. Granting the petition would violate the legitimate expectation rights of the company to engage in commercial activities," said British American Tobacco.
The company stated that the right to ban tobacco products belongs to the parliament rather than the court, and believes that overturning it would result in illegal and dangerous cigarettes.
British American Tobacco's half-year profit in Kenya increased by 8.4% to KES 2.9 billion.
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