The High Court has lifted Kenya’s shisha ban after declaring the continued enforcement of the prohibition unlawful and unconstitutional in a landmark ruling that deals a major blow to the government’s crackdown on the tobacco product.
In a judgment delivered on Tuesday, 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 months ordered by the court in 2018.
“The Public Health (Control of Shisha Smoking) Rules, 2017… ceased to have effect upon the expiry of nine months from July 26, 2018,” the judge ruled.
The court also declared unconstitutional a February 3, 2025 press release and an April 14, 2025 directive that had been used to enforce the ban and crack down on shisha outlets across the country.
Justice Mwamuye further barred government agencies and their officers from enforcing the expired regulations and the 2025 directives against members of the Novel Tobacco Products Association.
“A conservatory order be and is hereby issued restraining the respondents, their agents and employees from enforcing the unlawful notices issued on February 3, 2025 and April 14, 2025,” the judge said.
The case was filed by the Novel Tobacco Products Association, which argued that the government was relying on regulations that had already lapsed. The court agreed, finding that the State failed to correct procedural defects identified in an earlier High Court decision despite being given time to do so.
The ruling means authorities can no longer rely on the 2017 rules or the 2025 directives to enforce the shisha ban in their current form.
However, the judgment does not stop the government from introducing fresh regulations that comply with the law. The Ministry of Health has already proposed new Public Health (Control of Waterpipe Tobacco Products) Rules, 2026 to replace the 2017 framework.
The decision is expected to reignite debate between public health campaigners, who have long supported the ban, and traders who insist the government must follow the Constitution and proper legal procedures when introducing regulations.
