Members of Rastafarian communities in Kenya are organizing efforts to change the country’s approach to marijuana following a court decision earlier this month that rejected a request to decriminalize the plant for religious purposes.
Rastafari, an Afrocentric religion and social movement that emerged in the 1930s within Jamaican communities, centers on beliefs including that the former Ethiopian emperor Haile Selassie I represents the messiah and that Black people experience oppression under systems described as Babylon. Followers within the faith view cannabis as a sacrament and hold that its consumption facilitates a meditative state enabling deeper spiritual connection. The religion gained international prominence partly through reggae music influenced by Rastafarian perspectives, and it is practiced across numerous countries where adherents continue advocating for legal recognition of the plant’s religious significance.
In Kenya, the Rastafari Society filed a court petition in 2021 seeking either exemption from marijuana-related prosecution or establishment of a legal framework permitting the practice. A court on 15 July dismissed the petition, determining that the society had not sufficiently demonstrated unconstitutional violations of rights. Followers responded by indicating plans to pursue appeals through higher courts.
Members of Rastafarian communities in Nairobi, including those affiliated with the House of Nyabinghi denomination, have continued gathering for communal spiritual observances while expressing concerns about marginalization. Some practitioners noted that despite a 2019 court recognition of Rastafari as a legally protected religion, followers still experience social stigma. Other jurisdictions have taken different approaches; in 2023, Antigua and Barbuda approved permission for Rastafarians to cultivate and use cannabis in religious contexts.
Rastafarians in Kenya have characterized the situation as affecting their freedom to practice their faith and have called for policy changes to align legal statutes with religious liberty protections.
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