Somalia lifts ban on miraa [Khat] imports from Kenya

According to an investigation by Keydmedia Online, more than 16 cargo flights of Khat [Miraa] land in Mogadishu every single day from Kenya, bringing in about 13,000 bags of the stimulant with a total value of over $400,000.

News Keydmedia Online
16 July 2022

NAIROBI, Kenya - After two-year hiatus, Somalia has officially lifted the ban on the importation of khat (miraa), "disastrous narcotic leaves" from Kenya as relations between the two countries warm. 

The move came after the newly elected Somali president Hassan Mohamud held a meeting with his Kenyan counterpart Uhuru Kenyatta in Nairobi on Friday on the first day of his two-day visit.

The two leaders have signed an 11-point agreement on Khat trade, aviation, and economic cooperation. The new deal allows Kenya Airways to make direct Mogadishu-Nairobi flights immediately.

I had a meeting with my Kenyan counterpart President Uhuru Kenyatta today as part of my state visit to Kenya. We discussed strengthening our two sides' security, cultural, economic & trade cooperation going forward," said Mohamud.

According to an investigation by Keydmedia Online, more than 16 cargo flights of Khat [Miraa] land in Mogadishu every single day from Kenya, bringing in about 13,000 bags of the stimulant with a total value of over $400,000.

The former president Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo suspended miraa imports on March 19, 2020, citing Covid-19 restrictions, but the issue was to allow Ethiopian Khat to arrive in the country to help his brother Hassan make a lucrative business.

The ban led to a loss of a daily market for more than 50 tons of khat valued at millions of US dollars per week. The miraa farmers have been putting pressure on Uhuru to restore their Somalia market for the past two years. This has finally been accomplished.

Read below the Joint Communique.

KEYDMEDIA English