Uganda’s constitutional court on Friday repealed the country’s Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (Control) Act, 2015 which, among other things, prohibited the sale and use of several narcotic drugs in the country, This follows a 2017 petition to the court by farmers growing miraa (khat) under their umbrella body Wakiso Miraa Growers and Dealers Association Limited…
The farmers were seeking the overturning of a parliamentary decision to ban the sale and use of miraa which they said was inconsistent with principles of legality, equality, rationality and proportionality guaranteed under the constitution since they were never consulted, they also contested the manner in which the law prohibited the cultivation, possession, consumption, sale, purchase, warehousing, distribution, transportation, exportation, importation and other dealings in the crop.
A panel of five judges at the court threw out the law on a technicality, ruling that the manner in which it was enacted was illegal and repealing it was the only remedy because of a requirement by the parliamentary rules of procedure of having quorum before any bill is passed.
“In the premises, I would declare the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (Control) Act, 2015 null and void for lack of quorum on the part of parliament, contrary to articles 88 and 89 of the constitution and rule 23 of the Rules of Procedure of the 9th parliament, 2012 made, pursuant to articles 88 and 94 of the constitution,” Uganda’s Justice Muzamiru Mutangula Kibeedi said in his lead judgement.
