In a major decision, the Constitutional Court in Kampala struck down the Narcotic drugs and Psychotropic Substances (Control) Act, 2015, which had outlawed the use and sale of many illicit drugs in Uganda. The choice was made in response to a petition from Miraa farmers who claimed the law was unconstitutional because it violated the constitutional guarantees of equality, legality, rationality, and proportionality.
Farmers of the crop filed a petition with the Constitutional Court in 2017 through their umbrella organization, Wakiso Miraa Growers and Dealers Association Ltd. They asserted that the decision of parliament was invalid because it was not supported by any evidence, whether scientific or otherwise. Additionally, the mairungi dealers claimed that they were wronged by the way the law aims to outlaw the crop’s growth, possession, consumption, sale, purchase, warehousing, distribution, transportation, exporting, and other business operations.
The Constitutional Court concluded last Friday that the entire bill should be repealed because the way it was passed was unlawful. Any bill enacted without the appropriate procedure being followed is void, according to the panel of five justices, which included the Deputy Chief Justice Richard Buteera, Justice Stephen Musota, Justice Muzamiru Mutangula Kibeedi, Justice Irene Mulyagonja, and Justice Monica K. Mugyenyi. Before any law can be passed, a quorum is required, according to the norms of procedure in Parliament, they added.
In his lead judgment, Justice Kibeedi ruled that the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (Control) Act, 2015 was invalid because there was not a quorum present, which is against articles 88 and 89 of the Constitution as well as rule 23 of the Rules of Procedure of the 9th Parliament, 2012, which were made in accordance with those articles.
Justice Kibeedi repealed the entire act, stating that it is only prudent to throw out the entire law because the provisions that forbade dealing in miraa were not handled by parliament separately from the other provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (Control) Act, 2015. Before declaring the legislation unenforceable and awarding the petitioner costs, he determined that nothing regarding the challenged conduct could be preserved.
The decision was hailed as a significant success by Kizito Vincent, the head of the petitioners, Wakiso Miraa Growers and Dealers Association Ltd. He claimed that despite having ample scientific evidence to demonstrate that miraa is not harmful, their businesses had been rendered inoperable because they could no longer freely export and sell. In order to assure the simplification of their operation, he continued, they are prepared to collaborate with the government.
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