Mombasa County bans use and sale of muguka

Mombasa County Government has banned muguka. [File, Standard]

Mombasa County Government has banned the entry, transportation, sale, and use of muguka and its products.

This comes days after Governor Abdulswammad Nassir reiterated the county’s plan to regulate the use of miraa and its products in the coastal city.

In a statement Thursday, May 22, the governor also ordered the closure of all outlets selling the substance to combat drug abuse.

“That, there be a total prohibition on the entry, transportation, distribution, sale, and use of Muguka and its products within Mombasa County,” the statement reads in part.

“That, all outlets, whether in the form of retail or wholesale, selling and/or distributing Muguka within Mombasa County be closed immediately and/or stop the sale of Muguka and its products,”.

According to the governor, all motor vehicles transporting the plant will not be allowed into the county. He has also directed all county law enforcement officers to implement the directive immediately.

Days before the ban, tNassir had disclosed plans by the county government to ban the chewing of miraa by drivers in the public transport sector.

The ban comes as leaders from Embu and Meru, where the plant is grown, continue to push for favorable laws that will help improve the market for Miraa farmers.