Kenyan NGOs File Petition Seeking Ban on Multiple Pesticides
The African Centre for Corrective and Preventive Action (ACCPA) and environmental activist Kelvin Mugambi Kubai have filed a petition at the Environment and Land Court in Milimani seeking to halt the distribution and use of several agrochemicals.
The petitioners are seeking a ban on glyphosate, paraquat, imidacloprid, clothianidin, fipronil, chlorpyrifos, thiacloprid, thiamethoxam, fenitrothion, malathion, and dinotefuran.
The list of respondents includes the Agrochemicals Association of Kenya, multinational companies Monsanto Kenya, Syngenta East Africa, Bayer East Africa, BASF East Africa, and Twiga Chemicals Industries Ltd. Government bodies named are the Pest Control Products Board (PCPB), the Ministries of Agriculture and Health, the Agriculture and Food Authority, the Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Service (KEPHIS), the Council of Governors, and the Kenya Consumers Protection Advisory Committee. The Attorney General is also listed as a respondent.
The petition states that the chemicals are defective, dangerous to human health and bees, and are sold without proper warnings. It cites the International Agency for Research on Cancer’s classification of glyphosate as a “probable human carcinogen” and notes the European Union’s ban on the outdoor use of neonicotinoids like imidacloprid and thiamethoxam to protect bees.
The filing argues that the continued use of these substances violates constitutional rights to a clean and healthy environment (Article 42), consumer rights to safe goods and information (Article 46), and the right to life (Article 26). It further states that Kenyan horticultural exports have been rejected by international markets for exceeding permitted pesticide residue levels.
The petitioners request the court to issue declarations that these constitutional rights have been violated and to order the immediate cessation of the sale and distribution of the named chemicals. Other requests include orders for the development of new food safety regulations, compensation for affected individuals, and a transition towards agro-ecological farming practices
