Kenyan Lawyer Speaks Out: 'What’s Bad for US & UK Can’t Be Good for Kenya'

The US lobby groups have been emphasizing the effectiveness of these [agro] chemicals while overlooking their long-term effects and potential after-effects, Kelvin Kubai, an activist and advocate of the high court of Kenya, tells Global South Pole.

Kubai points out that the aggressive advertising strategies of these lobby groups reach grassroots communities through local media, often in vernacular languages, mislead farmers about the dangers of these products.

“The problem is they are able to air advertisement through media. That is through media channels, including both local and national press. And these press are able to reach the grassroots communities because they are aired even in vernacular languages, the local native languages for these communities,” he notes.

The Kenyan lawyer further argues that what is deemed unsafe in countries like the US and UK should not be acceptable in Kenya or any part of Africa.

“The level of evidence we have is overwhelming, both primary and secondary sources. And of course, the data from other jurisdictions, including the US and the UK, where these have been banned. Our argument is simple, what is bad for US and the UK cannot in any way be good for Kenya and Africa at large. So the very reasons that led to their banning in US and UK based on scientific data and evidence. In Kenya, actually, the conditions are even more for us because we have farmers who are not even well empowered to even have the […] In Kenya and Africa. Whatever is banned there should have been banned here a very long time ago,” the lawyer advocates.

Kubai echoes a return to traditional farming practices that have sustained African communities for centuries without relying on hazardous chemicals. “There is a room to scientifically develop those traditional methods,” he asserts, calling for support from countries like Russia in developing safer alternatives and more research into biochemicals that do not pose health risks.

The second segment of this podcast also features:

Elena Vartanova, Dean at the Faculty of Journalism, Lomonosov Moscow State University, joins the podcast to discuss the evolving role of media, highlighting the challenges of disinformation and the responsibilities of journalists in maintaining trust. She touched on how AI is reshaping information delivery, stressing the need for ethical standards to guide media in this complex landscape.

To find out what else our guests had to say, tune in to the Global South Pole podcast, brought to you by Sputnik Africa.

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