{"id":143143,"date":"2026-06-05T09:02:47","date_gmt":"2026-06-05T09:02:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/nba-tells-court-it-is-fully-capable-of-regulating-gmos-in-kenya\/"},"modified":"2026-06-05T09:02:47","modified_gmt":"2026-06-05T09:02:47","slug":"nba-tells-court-it-is-fully-capable-of-regulating-gmos-in-kenya","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/nba-tells-court-it-is-fully-capable-of-regulating-gmos-in-kenya\/","title":{"rendered":"NBA tells court it is fully capable of regulating GMOs in Kenya"},"content":{"rendered":"

The National Biosafety Authority (NBA) says that it is fully capable of regulating Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) in Kenya, as the hearing of a case challenging the open field cultivation, and placing on the market of genetically modified maize (Zea mays) commonly known as Bt maize (MON 89034) came to an end.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

The case, filed by activists against the NBA, Ministry of Agriculture, Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Service, and the Council of Governors, was heard over two days at the Kisumu High Court. Parties are now expected to file written submissions by July.<\/span><\/p>\n

During the hearing on Thursday, NBA acting Director Biosafety Awareness, Education and Collaborations Josphat Muchiri, told the Court the Country has strong legal framework to regulated GMOs and therefore, Kenyans not worried.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe use of biotechnology to promote food security, nutrition and health is in fact consistent with the State\u2019s duty to promote the dignity of its people, by ensuring access to safe food, improving public health and enhancing national resilience in the face of climate change and population growth,\u201d Mr. Muchiri told the Court during cross examination of Mr. Matunda Montari from the Attorney General\u2019s office.<\/p>\n

He insisted that adoption of Bt maize will help address the issue of food security as well as pest control which affects the plant in the country.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have the required regulatory framework in place and that has been affirmed by the High Court in Nairobi that the Authority is up to the task,\u201d said Muchiri.<\/p>\n

He also emphasized that the Authority has conducted public awareness across the Country on GM maize.<\/p>\n

Muchiri told the Court that all GMOs undergo a rigorous assessment at laboratory, green house and field trials to generate biosafety data focusing on safety, including food, feed and environment of the GMs under evaluation.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese assessments are conducted under strict environment until the GMOs are approved for environmental release,\u201d said Muchiri.<\/p>\n

He went on : \u201cIt is noteworthy that before GMOs are released where the initial summary risks assessment are indicative that there are environmental or safety concern that requires further test, NBA allows the pre-trail tests to be conducted in the contained environment as a precautionary measure.<\/p>\n

He maintained that the Country has put in place robust frameworks with inbuilt structures which must be met before the various agencies can consider and determine applications for approval of the transfer, handling and use of genetically modified organisms.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe existing legal and institutional framework has been set up for the rigorous evaluation of GM organisms and GM foods relative to both human health and environment. The evidence before the Court shows that the National Biosafety Authority and other agencies have the capacity in the identification of foods that should be subject to risk assessment and recommend appropriate approaches to safety assessment,\u201d Muchiri told the Court.<\/p>\n

He went on: \u201cWith all the institutions, we should be confident that our health and environment is in safe hands. It cannot be true that they all have conspired to expose the rest of the population to the calamities alluded in the petition.\u201d<\/p>\n

Muchiri explained that GMOs constitute a form of biotechnology with broad applications, not only limited in agriculture but also in medicine, environmental management, industrial process and scientific research.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor instance, the production of life-saving medications like insulin, and the development of COVID-19 vaccines, rely heavily on GMOs,\u201d said Muchiri adding that any biotechnology product coming to or made in Kenya, must first be approved by the Authority.<\/p>\n

He told the Court that the Biosafety Act, Cap 320 assigns the Authority a clear and wide-ranging mandate to ensure the safe development, transfer, handling and use of GMOs across a variety of sectors including health, medicine, wildlife, and industrial biotechnology.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Authority\u2019s regulatory role is therefore not limited to agricultural GMOs but extend to innovations such as research on pharmaceuticals, bioremediation technologies and forensic. This broad jurisdiction demonstrates that its functions transcendent beyond any single sector or devolved function,\u201d Muchiri told the Court.<\/p>\n

He also explained that reputable bodies including World Health organization (WHO), the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and European Food safety Authority (EFSA) have consistently maintained that GMOs currently approved for human consumption are safe.<\/p>\n

He added that in countries like South Africa, China, India, Colombia, Brazil, cultivation of GMOs has helped farmers grow more food and feed using fewer resources and reduced cost of pest and weed control.<\/p>\n

The Bt maize which was approved by the National Biosafety Authority in 2025 was developed using modern biotechnology methods to protect itself against specific pests such as the maize stem borers and fall armyworms, which are devastating pests in maize fields.<\/p>\n

National Biosafety Authority is mandated to exercise general supervision and control over the transfer, handling and use of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) with a view to ensuring safety of human and animal health and provision of adequate protection of the environment.<\/p>\n

As a result, farmers were to expect less damage to their maize crop, leading to increased harvests and better-quality grains. This could also lower production costs and reduce risks to health and the environment by using fewer insecticides used for pest management.<\/p>\n

The post NBA tells court it is fully capable of regulating GMOs in Kenya<\/a> appeared first on KBC Digital<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The National Biosafety Authority (NBA) says that it is fully capable of regulating Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) in Kenya, as the hearing of a case challenging the open field cultivation, and placing on the market of genetically modified maize (Zea mays) commonly known as Bt maize (MON 89034) came to an end. The case, filed […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-143143","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","entry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/143143","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=143143"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/143143\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=143143"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=143143"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=143143"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}