Dr. Fred Matiang’i, Kenya’s Minister of Interior, discussed the ban importation of miraa by the Federal Government of Somalia with Kiraitu Murungi, the Governor of Meru County.
In March 2020, the government of President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo imposed a ban on importing miraa from Kenya.
At the time, the government imposed the ban as one of the measures for curbing the spread of COVID-19 around the country.
However, since then, the Somali government has kept the ban in place despite lifting restrictions on other COVID-19 measures.
Kenyan miraa farmers have suffered huge losses as the ban continues to bite.
On November 2, Dr. Matiang’i met Governor Murungi and several miraa traders from Meru County to discuss the ban.
Matiang’i promised to work closely with Kenya’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Agriculture to protect the farmers from further losses.
Miraa traders from Kenya have consistently urged their government to discuss the issue with their Somali counterparts to prevent further losses without success.