Court halts NACADA bid to reduce miraa chewing hours

NAIROBI, KENYA: The High Court has extended orders temporarily stopping the National Authority for the Campaign Against Alcohol and Drug Abuse (Nacada) from regulating the hours for miraa (khat) chewing.

Nacada is seeking to have the time of chewing miraa reduced to five hours in a day, a move that Kenya Miraa Farmers and Traders Association have gone to court to challenge.

The association's lawyer Henry Kurauka told the court on Tuesday that Nacada had not filed their responses as earlier directed by the court. Justice Mumbi Ngugi directed the parties to file and serve the documents by November 3.