The High Court has ruled that the enforcement of Kenya’s shisha ban, based on the 2017 Public Health (Control of Shisha Smoking) Rules, is unlawful and unconstitutional. The judgment was delivered by Justice Bahati Mwamuye.
In the ruling, the court found that the 2017 regulations lost legal effect after the government failed to regularise them within nine months, as ordered by the court in 2018. Despite this lapse, government agencies continued to enforce the ban without a valid legal basis.
Key points from the ruling include:
- The 2017 shisha control rules ceased to have legal force after the nine-month grace period expired.
- Subsequent government directives issued in February and April 2025 to enforce the ban were invalid as they relied on expired regulations.
- Enforcement actions against shisha businesses were declared unconstitutional and unlawful.
- The court prohibited the State from enforcing the expired regulations or related directives against members of the Novel Tobacco Products Association, who had challenged the ban.
The judgment effectively removes the current legal foundation for the shisha ban in Kenya. The government will need to enact new, legally compliant regulations should it wish to reinstate restrictions on shisha smoking.
