Court restricts duty-free rice imports in a win for farmers

Farmers in a rice farm in Mwea, Kirinyaga county/ ALICE WAITHERA

The Kerugoya High Court has found the government in contempt of court over the importation of duty-free rice.

Justice Edward Muriithi on Friday held that the National Treasury CS and the Commissioner for Customs and Border Control acted in contempt by contravening conservatory orders regulating the importation of rice into the country.

The judge said the court’s earlier orders, issued on January 29, had been crafted to strike a delicate balance between competing public interests.

These included protecting local rice farmers and traders, stabilising consumer prices and enabling the government to meet its constitutional duty to ensure access to food of reasonable quality at affordable prices.

“The court’s duty is to ensure that conservatory orders, tailored to balance the interests of local farmers and businessmen, consumer price stability and the government’s obligation to secure food provision, are obeyed,” Justice Muriithi said.

The court had in January ordered the Kenya Revenue Authority to impound 500,000 metric tonnes of duty-free rice that had been imported at the Port of Mombasa until March 2.

It also gave the government 30 days to buy all locally produced and processed rice from farmers, millers, traders and businesses across rice-growing regions, including Ahero, Mwea, Bunyala and Kano, regardless of affiliation with cooperatives or KNTC-contracted groups.

Justice Muriithi emphasised that disobedience of court orders must be remedied through appropriate action, including the purging of contempt and punishment where necessary.

The contempt proceedings arose from a petition filed at the Kerugoya High Court by rice farmers and other stakeholders from Kirinyaga county, Kenya’s main rice-growing region.

The petitioners challenged the government’s decision through Gazette Notice No. 10353, which was published in July 20, permitting the importation of 500,000 metric tonnes of duty-free rice.

They argued that the move would flood the market, depress prices and frustrate efforts to market locally produced rice.

In August last year, the court allowed the state to partially import rice and implored on it to ensure locally produced rice is bought before turning to foreign produce to fill production deficits.

This followed the state’s assertion that the local production of 264,000 metric tonnes of rice was insufficient against a demand of 1.3 million metric tonnes, and that imports were necessary to curb shortages.

Mwea Rice Growers Society had lamented that it had 5,000 metric tonnes of rice in its stores following the governments’ decision to import another batch of 500,000 metric tonnes in 2024, which flooded the market, dampening their sales.

Justice Muriithi found that the acts of the government contravened its orders regarding both the quantities of rice permitted for importation and the status of the Gazette notice, which remained under judicial control.

The court specifically held the National Treasury CS, cited as the first respondent, and the Commissioner for Customs and Border Control, cited as the fourth respondent, to have acted in contempt.

The CS was directed to purge the contempt by issuing a Gazette notice revoking Gazette Notice No. 262 of 2026, which was published last month to extend the duty-free rice import authorisation.

The revocation must be accompanied by a public apology to the court and to the parties in the petition, together with an assurance of non-repetition.

For the Commissioner for Customs and Border Control, the court ordered that the required duty be levied on rice already imported under the impugned notice.

Alternatively, the release of the consignment must be withheld and only considered within the framework of duty-free importation as previously permitted by the court, and only after the mop-up of locally produced rice.

The matter has been scheduled for mention on March 2 to confirm compliance with the court’s directives. In default, the judge said summons will be issued requiring the respondents to appear in court and show cause why they should not be punished for contempt.

INSTANT ANALYSIS

Mwea Rice Growers Society had 5,000 metric tonnes of rice in its stores following the governments’ decision to import another batch of 500,000 metric tonnes in 2024, which flooded the market, dampening their sales. The court held that the National Treasury CS and the Commissioner for Customs and Border Control acted in contempt. The CS was directed to revoke the duty-free rice import authorisation and issue a public apology to the court and to the parties in the petition, together with an assurance of non-repetition.