Somali campaigner applauds House of Lords backing of Khat ban

Hiiraan Online
Wednesday May 14, 2014

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A prominent Somali campaigner Abukar Awale who lobbies for the khat ban in the UK has vehemently welcomed the decision by the House of Lords which approved plans to ban the narcotic leaf ‘khat’ in the United Kingdom be implemented.

On Monday the House of Lords gave a majority vote to support the ban of the stimulant leaf which was already classified as class ‘C’ drug by the Home office.

The khat ban plan attracted 216 members of the House of Lords who voted in favour of, while only 125 members voted against, so the class ‘C’ drug ban will come into effect from early July this year.

“The decision by the House of Lords was another major breakthrough which fully supports our campaign against the continuation of the drug import into the UK—with this decision thousands of Somali and other ethnic communities from Yemen and East Africa will survive” Mr. Abukar Awale said in an interview with HOL on Wednesday.

“The House of Lords support of the plans to ban khat in the country shows that the UK government is fully respecting the needs of the majority who want khat to be outlawed in the country” Mr. Awale expressed.

He said that since the drug was banned in Netherlands, an average of 11,500 tonnes of khat was intercepted by UK border security controls while being illegally exported to that country.

“I am really happy to hear the decision by the UK government and I believe that such a step forward will help thousands of Somali families in both health and economically” he told reporters following the government decision.

“The khat ban will take effect from 1st of July and that will coincide with the early days of the sacred month of Ramadan, so I call on my Somali brothers and sisters to benefit from the Ramadan in their attempt to get rid of the stimulant leaf”

Mr. Awale denounced claims by the Liberal democrat peer Baroness Hamwee who warned the government against banning anything “cultural significant” including the khat.

But Mr. Awale was quick to retort that the drug was not part of the Somali culture, but the Somalis were instead fed up with it.

He also urged the UK government to cling to its decision which will prevent the civilized country from becoming a gate way for ‘khat trafficking’ to the outside world who already banned the drug.

HOL English News Desk

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