Kenya’s High Court ruled that the country’s 2017 shisha regulations are no longer legally enforceable, finding the government failed to correct procedural defects within the nine-month period ordered by the court in 2018. Justice Bahati Mwamuye declared that continued enforcement of the ban, including government directives and press releases issued in 2025, was unlawful and unconstitutional.
The ruling prevents authorities from enforcing the 2017 shisha regulations against members of the Novel Tobacco Products Association and invalidates recent government crackdowns based on those rules. The court also held that tobacco products cannot be prohibited through subsidiary legislation that fails to comply with statutory requirements, effectively lifting enforcement of Kenya’s longstanding shisha ban until valid regulations are enacted.
