- The MPs threatened to challenge the decision in court.
- They said reasons behind the decade ban has not been addressed.
The debate on the recent lifting of the decade-long ban on GMO food escalated on Wednesday with MPs from Western Kenya accusing President William Ruto of gambling with the lives of Kenyans.
MPs Caleb Amisi (Saboti), Nabi Nabwera (Lugari), Peter Salasya (Mumias East), Kaunya Oku (Teso North), Nairobi senator Edwin Sifuna and his Vihiga counterpart Godfrey Osotsi demanded immediate reversal to the ban claiming the health concerns surrounding GMO products have not been addressed.
The leaders raised concerns that the DNA changes in food crops may have adverse effects on human health.
The leaders faulted the move threatening to challenge it in court on account that no public participation was conducted before lifting the ban.
Amisi said the decision is putting at risk the lives of millions of Kenyans especially without a clear roadmap to guide the importation of genetically modified food.
“One of the earliest actions of the Kenya Kwanza regime has been to lift this ban, without either a semblance of public participation or any new scientific information shared in public to back this decision,” Amisi said.
“What was the rush to lift the ban on GMOs even before such basic safeguards are in place? Food security is not just the amount of food but the quality and safety of food. Our cultural and indigenous food has proved to be safer, with diverse nutrients and with less harmful chemical inputs.”
“Our message to the president is that do not gamble with the lives of Kenyans.”
Sifuna said the radical policy shift without public and stakeholders' participation will be resisted by MPs when it is brought to Parliament.
“We are going to fight the lifting of this ban through all avenues. The policies to regularize the farming of GMOs will come to parliament for approval but we will shoot them down. If that fails, we will move to the courts,” Sifuna said.
“I'm sure the courts will not tolerate a policy shift without proper public participation.”
Lugari MP Nabi Nabwera said the lifting of the ban without proper scientific research is a matter of health concern.
“We cannot use a whole population as a guinea pig,” Nabwera said.
Osotsi on his part claimed the whole decision was motivated by commercial interest by multinationals who are out to gain at the expense of the lives of Kenyans.
He said the multinationals are working with other local state officers.
The decision he noted will impoverish local farmers as it will expose them to intellectual property restrictions by the multinationals behind the GMOs.
“What the President did not tell Kenyan farmers is that GM seeds are patented and this has the potential to land the farmers on whose farm the GM crops have grown without their knowledge into intellectual property issues,” Osotsi said.
The leaders were speaking in Parliament building on Wednesday.