Hiiraan Online

As a British citizen and UK taxpayer, I find the mission somewhat surprising given that as Chairman of the Home Affairs Select Committee,  Hon Vaz’s remit would involve exploring the impact of the khat ban a bit closer to home. But Mr Vaz’s ill-advised mission doesn’t surprise the Somali community because he has repeatedly rebuffed without providing explanation community’s attempts of meeting him to express their concerns on the social harm of Khat in UK.

For the benefit of those who may be unfamiliar with Khat or Mira, it is scientifically known as Catha edulis, and contains a number of chemicals such as cathine and cathinone (amphetamine-like stimulant) which on their own are illegal substances classified under the Misuse of Substance Act of 1971. Khat is traditionally consumed in the Horn of Africa (primarily by Somalis) and is chewed in leaf form for a number of hours until one experiences feelings of euphoria. However, prolonged use of Khat has severe implications for both physical and mental health and its abuse has been blamed for much of societal ills within our community.  It has been banned across the Western world and regrettably, Britain has been the last western nation to follow suit. Even Holland, perhaps the most permissive nation in Western Europe with regard to the recreational use of drugs decided to proscribe Khat in 2012 and the ban is now in effect there. Simply put, among what you might call the overwhelming majority of civilized world, there is near unanimous agreement that Khat is a harmful drug and in our view, it is therefore rightfully classified here as a Class C substance here in the UK as such.

Some will point out that the UK’s Advisory Council for the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) recommended that khat should not be made illegal due to insufficient evidence of social and medical harm. From what I can see, the ACMD seems to be the only non-governmental advisory body in the world of its kind that has made such a recommendation. After all, within Kenya’s own borders, the National Authority for the Campaign against Alcohol and Drug Abuse has also recommended classifying Khat under Kenyan drug laws.

Perhaps we are able to contextualize ACMD’s stance on Khat only when we consider the case of its former head, Professor David Nutt, relieved from his duties for stating that horse riding was more harmful that ecstasy. As a retraction, Professor Nutt stated the following in an article posted in the Guardian newspaper on 11/11/13: “Alcohol is both one of the oldest and most dangerous drugs, responsible for about 2.5 million deaths worldwide, which is more than malaria or Aids .......If alcohol was discovered today it could never be sold as it is far too toxic to be allowed under current food regulations, let alone pharmaceutical safety thresholds.” Now I’m not scientist, but that to me sounds like what would be robust evidence required for the banning of alcohol under the ACMD’s own criteria. If they haven’t already made this recommendation, I’d be interested to hear their explanation of why they have not done so to date.

The irony that has been lost by the Labour MP, Chairman of Home Select Committee is the juxtaposition of a Conservative Home Secretary in the person of Theresa May banning Khat in order to protect the Somalis as a vulnerable community juxtaposed with a (New) Labour politician seeking to reverse it for apparent commercial reasons. One might have thought that the opposite would be true. Mr Vaz is quoted as follows: “The UK Parliament which believes in democracy realized that Mira was the major source of income for the Meru people and saw the need to revert the bill and persuade the queen not to ascend to it but rather partner with the Meru people to give the best to their consumers without brokers.” He is then further quoted: “I call upon the two governments to engage in dialogue to remove all the existing barriers that pose a threat for investment and this will further enhance individual business links between the two countries.”

Now I’m sure that no one would find fault with this if we were talking about tea and coffee. However, the problem is the Labour MP for Leicester East is seemingly more concerned with the financial impact of outlawing an internationally recognized drug in Khat on the Meru community in north eastern Kenya than he is with his own constituents in Leicester, a sizeable proportion of which are Somalis who have suffered greatly from the harmful effects of khat as a community.  In other words, Mr Vaz prioritises commercial ties with foreign drug dealers over the wellbeing of UK citizens at home which in and of itself should be alarming.

But then again, it could be argued that Mr Vaz is only acting true to form as controversy seemingly never too far from him in his political life. After all, The Hinduja passport affair in 2001 is amongst other unsavoury incidents over the years seeming to follow him in his political career like as a rather bad smell. That he has managed to still be deemed a suitable candidate to stand as a Labour MP in spite of all is surprising and given his chequered history, some have rather amusingly labelled him the ‘Teflon’ MP. If Mr Vaz were prepared to actually take the time to learn about the destruction that Khat wrought on so many people in our community in his own constituency, perhaps people would be prepared to give him the benefit of the doubt.

As the lead UK Anti-khat campaigner, I would be happy to arrange a meeting with Keith Vaz and sections of our community that have campaigned so tirelessly for Khat to be banned from our shores. Judging by Mr Vaz’s recent trip, it would seem that he either considers Leicester East as a particularly safe Labour seat or perhaps more outlandishly, an opening will soon be available in Meru Community.  However, as UK citizens, it is hoped that the Rt Honourable MP for Leicester East would afford us the same concern and attention in Britain as he displayed to Kenyan politicians over four thousand miles away.