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Lawyers vow to fight on after Kenya court rejects Rastafarians' cannabis bid

Kenya's High Court has rejected a Rastafarian community's bid to use cannabis for religious purposes, dismissing a petition filed in 2021. The community argued the ban infringed on their freedom of religion, but the judge ruled they failed to show cannabis was a necessary part of their practice. Lawyers say they will appeal the verdict.

By Tertius News AI Desk 3 outlets · 3 articles Version 1 Coverage Jul 8–16, 2026 Published Aug 15

Lead

Kenya's High Court has rejected a bid by Rastafarians to use cannabis as part of their religious worship, a ruling that ends a years-long legal battle but not the fight, as lawyers say they will appeal. The decision, delivered on 15 July, dismissed a petition filed by the Rastafari Society of Kenya in 2021, which argued that the country's ban on cannabis infringed on their constitutional rights to freedom of religion and belief.

The community had not sought to legalise cannabis outright, but asked for a derogation for religious purposes in private homes and designated places of worship, describing cannabis not as a recreational drug but as a sacred sacrament used to aid meditation and spiritual reflection.

Coverage comparison

Coverage of the ruling varied in focus. Africa News, reporting ahead of the judgment, highlighted the community's hopes and expectations, quoting members on the centrality of cannabis to their faith and the hardships they face under current laws. France 24's English service mentioned the ruling as part of a broader Africa news roundup, noting the loss of a landmark court battle but offering no further detail. RFI's English service provided the most detailed account, reporting the court's reasoning, the community's arguments, and the plans to appeal.

The sources agreed on the core facts: the petition was launched in 2021, the community argued that the ban infringed on their rights, and the High Court rejected the bid. They differed in emphasis, with Africa News focusing on the pre-ruling wait and the community's perspective, while RFI focused on the judgment itself and its implications.

Key claims

Kenya's High Court rejected a bid by Rastafarians to use cannabis for religious purposes, as reported by France 24 and RFI.
The Rastafari Society of Kenya launched a petition in 2021, arguing that the ban on cannabis use infringed on their rights to freedom of religion and belief, as reported by Africa News and RFI.
The community argued that cannabis is a sacred sacrament used to aid meditation and spiritual reflection, as reported by Africa News and RFI.
The judge ruled that the community had failed to show cannabis was a necessary part of their practice, a detail reported by RFI.
The Rastafarians plan to appeal the verdict, with lawyer Danstan Omari saying they would appeal "by Friday at the latest", as reported by RFI.
Possession of cannabis is a criminal offence in Kenya, punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a large fine, as reported by Africa News and RFI.

Perspectives

Rastafari Society of Kenya: The community sees cannabis as essential to their faith and culture. As spokesperson Mwendwa Wambua put it, "Rastafari is our culture and smoking weed or marijuana is a part of our culture. So we have to defend it in the law of court, the court of law." They argue that the ban leads to persecution and imprisonment for peaceful practitioners.

Legal team: Lawyer Duncan Okatch compared cannabis use to Communion in the Catholic faith, arguing for equal respect for Rastafarian practices. Danstan Omari, another lawyer, said the judge had misunderstood the case and confirmed plans to appeal.

The Court: Justice Bahati Mwamuye ruled that the community had failed to show cannabis was a necessary part of their practice, meaning they could not bypass Kenya's drug laws under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (Control) Act. The petition was "dismissed in its entirety".

How each outlet told it

Africa News as of Jul 8, 2026, 1:31 PM UTC

Framing: Rastafarians in Kenya await court ruling on cannabis use — Sympathetic and informative

Facts Included:

Rastafarians in Kenya were waiting for a high court ruling on whether they can smoke cannabis legally
The use of cannabis is central to the Rastafarian religion
The Rastafari Society of Kenya filed a lawsuit in 2021 to decriminalize the use of cannabis for spiritual purposes

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France 24 — English as of Jul 15, 2026, 8:30 PM UTC

Framing: Africa news roundup — Informative and neutral

Facts Included:

Kenya's Rastafarians lost a landmark court battle over the religious use of cannabis
The continent's top cocoa producers are joining forces to process more cocoa at home

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RFI — English as of Jul 16, 2026, 10:30 AM UTC

Framing: Rastafarians lose landmark court battle over cannabis use — Neutral with a hint of sympathy for the Rastafarian community

Facts Included:

Kenya's High Court rejected a bid by Rastafarians to use cannabis for religious purposes
The Rastafari Society of Kenya launched a petition in 2021 arguing that the ban on cannabis use infringed on their rights to freedom of religion and belief
The community argued that cannabis is a sacred sacrament used to aid meditation and spiritual reflection
The judge ruled that the community had failed to show cannabis was a necessary part of their practice
The Rastafarians plan to appeal the verdict

Read the source article →

What was claimed, and who backed it

Each row is one claim, attributed to the outlet whose wording states it most clearly. Confidence rates how directly the source text states the claim — explicit and unhedged rates high; hedged, pieced-together, or internally inconsistent statements rate lower. It does not measure whether the claim is true. Status counts the distinct outlets we found asserting it — so a single-source claim can still show high confidence, and a multi-source claim can show medium. Every one of those outlets is named beside the status, so you can check the count against the list. For claims extracted before we began storing that list, the row says so: it names the outlet the claim is quoted from and states that we have not recorded which outlets backed it. Outlets wrote at different times, so a figure that evolves — a casualty count, for example — can legitimately differ between rows; check the "as of" time next to each claim's source.

Claim	Confidence	Status
ClaimKenya's High Court rejected a bid by Rastafarians to use cannabis for religious purposes.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusMulti-source quoted from RFI — English as of Jul 16, 2026, 10:30 AM UTC the outlets behind this status were not recorded for this claim
ClaimThe Rastafari Society of Kenya launched a petition in 2021 arguing that the ban on cannabis use infringed on their rights to freedom of religion and belief.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusMulti-source quoted from RFI — English as of Jul 16, 2026, 10:30 AM UTC the outlets behind this status were not recorded for this claim
ClaimThe community argued that cannabis is a sacred sacrament used to aid meditation and spiritual reflection.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusMulti-source quoted from RFI — English as of Jul 16, 2026, 10:30 AM UTC the outlets behind this status were not recorded for this claim
ClaimThe judge ruled that the community had failed to show cannabis was a necessary part of their practice.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via RFI — English as of Jul 16, 2026, 10:30 AM UTC
ClaimThe Rastafarians plan to appeal the verdict.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via RFI — English as of Jul 16, 2026, 10:30 AM UTC
ClaimPossession of cannabis is a criminal offence, punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a large fine in Kenya.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusMulti-source quoted from RFI — English as of Jul 16, 2026, 10:30 AM UTC the outlets behind this status were not recorded for this claim

Transparency & Audit Trail

3 outlets · 3 articles consulted: Africa News, France 24 — English, RFI — English 6 claims extracted Version 1 Written 2026-08-15