High court lifts shisha ban, terms enforcement unlawful, unconstitutional

In his judgment, Justice Bahati Mwamuye ruled 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 authorities could no longer rely on the expired regulations to enforce the ban, and declared unlawful a February 3, 2025 press release and an April 14, 2025 directive announcing a crackdown on shisha outlets.

Justice Mwamuye also held that continued enforcement of the ban violated the petitioners' constitutional rights, and barred the government from enforcing the expired rules and subsequent directives against members of the Novel Tobacco Products Association.