Kenyan Court Dismisses Rastafarian Bid to Legalise Cannabis for Religious Use

 NAIROBI, Kenya Kenya's High Court on Wednesday, July 15, 2026, dismissed a petition by the Rastafari Society of Kenya seeking to legalize cannabis for religious purposes, ruling that the community had failed to prove the country's drug laws violate its constitutional right to freedom of religion.

A Rastafarian smokes as they gather outside Milimani Law Courts, after the high court dismisses a Rastafarian case seeking to legalize marijuana, in Nairobi, Wednesday, July 15, 2026.

What the Court Ruled

Justice Bahati Mwamuye said Kenya's Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (Control) Act does not unconstitutionally infringe on Rastafarians' religious freedom, and that granting an exemption would require a firmer constitutional and legal foundation than the petitioners presented. The judge noted that while all witnesses agreed cannabis functions as a sacrament in Rastafarian worship, they could not agree on whether its use is essential or merely preferred a distinction the court said undercut the constitutional case for an exemption.

A Six-Year Legal Fight

The petition, filed in 2021, asked the court to exempt Rastafarians from criminal liability for cultivating and using cannabis in private homes and designated places of worship, or to require the state to establish a legal framework accommodating the practice. Petitioners' lawyer Shadrack Wambui said the community intends to appeal the decision at the Court of Appeal.

Government and Health Authority Opposition

The Attorney-General opposed the petition on the government's behalf, arguing the law protects public health and safety, applies equally to all Kenyans, and complies with Kenya's international drug-control obligations. The National Authority for the Campaign Against Alcohol and Drug Abuse, which joined proceedings as an interested party, argued that cannabis carries documented health risks and that a religious exemption would undermine enforcement more broadly.

A Judge Who Still Questioned the Law

Despite dismissing the case "in its entirety," Mwamuye used the ruling to press for a wider national reckoning with drug policy, saying the "status quo appears untenable" and calling for "a full and frank conversation on cannabis and which direction we should take." He pointed to the widespread recreational use of cannabis across Kenyan society as evidence the current approach may be out of step with reality, while stressing that any change in the law belongs to Parliament, not the courts.

Reaction on the Ground

Rastafarians gathered afterward at Nairobi's Freedom Corner, where they chanted, beat drums and smoked marijuana in protest. Wanjiru Gakiu, 60, who has practiced Rastafarianism for 34 years, said she was disappointed and called Kenya's drug laws "satanic." The community has a longstanding link to Kenyan history through its tradition of dreadlocks, a style also worn by Mau Mau fighters who resisted British colonial rule in the 1950s and 60s a connection Kenyan courts partly recognised in 2019, when they ruled that expelling a student for wearing dreadlocks violated her religious rights.

Cannabis remains illegal in Kenya, with possession punishable by a fine of up to $2,000, up to 10 years in prison, or both.

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