This archive report was first published on 9 May 2020.
On May 9, 2020, the High Court suspended the government's plan to import four million bags of maize to avert a possible food crisis in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The court's decision came after activist Okiya Omtatah challenged the National Treasury's decision to allow private millers to import dry maize deemed as substandard and poisonous.
Justice Pauline Nyamweya issued the directive in a case challenging the National Treasury's decision, stating, 'In the interim period and pending the hearing and determination of this case, all 41 gazetted millers are hereby restrained from releasing, distributing, selling or in any manner facilitating the use and consumption of any maize imported, pursuant to notice No 3234 dated April 17, published in a special issue of the Kenya Gazette.'
Omtatah argued that the notice stipulated importation of maize whose aflatoxin levels don't exceed 10 parts per million instead of the required standard of 10 parts per billion, which would be 1,000 times higher than what the law permits.
He also said the notice specified that the maize to be imported should have a moisture content not exceeding 14.5 per cent yet the EAC sets a maximum of 13.5 per cent for safety for human consumption.
The case will be mentioned on June 2.
