Don’t politicise debate on anti-narcotics law

National Unity Platform (NUP) president Robert Kyagulanyi, alias Bobi Wine, has appealed to the government not to criminalise the growing and use of khat. Popularly known as mairungi, khat is a leafy green stimulant drug, which means it speeds up the messages between the brain and the body.

The buds and leaves of the khat plant (Catha edulis) are chewed for stimulant and euphoric effects, and traditionally have been used for medicinal purposes as well as recreationally. Khat contains cathinone and cathine, which are the chemicals that produce the stimulant effects.

Parliament recently passed the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (Control) Bill, 2023, which, among others, slaps heavy fines on farmers who do not possess a licence to grow khat. The Act of Parliament, which now awaits President Museveni’s assent before it becomes a law, joins another increasingly controversial banning of farming of Cannabis sativa or Cannabis indica plant – from whose dried leaves, flowers, stems, and seeds marijuana is made. Moreover, it comes just months after the Constitutional Court nullified a law that criminalised the use and sale of narcotics like marijuana and khat.

It is easy to see where Bobi Wine is coming from. But his approach is not entirely right. The Opposition leader said khat should be recognised as a cash crop instead of banning it. That is plausible. But then he also said it is the major source of livelihood for the farmers. And that is where the red lights begin to blink.

The law is not like a tomato stall in the flea market where profits override everything else. If khat, marijuana and other narcotic drugs were to be regulated, it cannot be at the stable of livelihood earned from cultivation as the ace card, otherwise this is akin to suggesting that the government should de-criminalise robbery because there are many earning a living from sending their victims six-feet under or leaving them permanently scarred – for those lucky to escape the pangas or bullets. The quest for regulation versus total ban should be debated without offending the law. Politicians must learn to choose their words carefully. Residents of Kabarole, particularly those from the sub-counties of Hakibaale, Kijura, Harugongo and Kibatsi, feel aggrieved by the Act since they heavily rely on khat cultivation as a means of sustenance. They should be at the forefront of raising sober grounds for the President not to assent to the draft law. But more significantly, it is time those concerned with narcotics laws in the country asked tougher questions on the application of these laws. While police destroy plantations of Cannabis, there are individuals who continue to grow the drug for export.

Politicians like Bobi Wine need to seriously look into such discriminatory laws to level the ground for those crying about khat instead.

Our commitment to you

We pledge:

• To be accurate and fair in all we do.
• To be respectful to all in our pursuit of the truth.
• To refuse to accept any compensation beyond that provided by Monitor Publications Ltd. for what we do in our news gathering and decision-making.

Further, we ask that we be informed whenever you feel that we have fallen short in our attempt to keep these commitments.