The High Court has lifted the government’s ban on shisha, ruling that the continued enforcement of the prohibition is unlawful and unconstitutional after the regulations underpinning it lapsed.
In a judgment delivered on Tuesday, Justice Bahati Mwamuye held that the Public Health (Control of Shisha Smoking) Rules, 2017 ceased to have legal effect after the government failed to regularise them within the nine-month period granted by the court in 2018. The judge found that, without valid regulations in force, the government had no legal basis to continue enforcing the ban.
Justice Mwamuye declared unlawful a February 3, 2025 press release and an April 14, 2025 directive that announced a nationwide crackdown on shisha outlets, finding that both relied on regulations that had already expired. The court further ruled that the continued enforcement of the ban violated the constitutional rights of the petitioners.
As a result, Justice Mwamuye issued orders barring the government from enforcing the expired Public Health (Control of Shisha Smoking) Rules, 2017, as well as the subsequent directives, against members of the Novel Tobacco Products Association.
The decision effectively means the government cannot continue relying on the lapsed regulations to sustain the shisha ban unless fresh, legally compliant regulations are enacted.
