(KISUMU, KENYA) – Kenya’s aquaculture dispute has moved to the Court of Appeal. Fish farmers warn that new government charges could harm an industry supporting more than 100,000 jobs and the livelihoods of more than 500,000 households. The Lake Victoria Aquaculture Association has appealed against a High Court decision that upheld the Fisheries Management and Development (Aquaculture) Regulations, 2024. The regulations introduced a KES50,000 licensing fee ($323 / £255) and a 5% ad valorem levy on fish landed by commercial aquaculture operators.
The association wants the Court of Appeal to overturn the judgment delivered on 29th June by Justice Roselyne Ekirapa Aburili. The High Court dismissed the original petition after finding that the association had failed to establish the constitutional violations it had alleged. In its appeal, the association contests several findings. These include the decision that it lacked the legal capacity to file the petition in its own name and the finding that there was adequate public participation in the formulation of the regulations.
The association argues that the Sixth Schedule containing the KES50,000 licensing fee ($323 / £255) and the 5% levy was introduced after the earlier consultation process had ended. It says this happened without meaningful engagement with affected stakeholders. The appeal also challenges the High Court findings on devolution, the government authority to impose the charges, the character of the 5% levy as effectively a tax and the impact on small and medium scale aquaculture operators.
The association wants the appellate court to declare the regulations unconstitutional, null and void. It also wants orders quashing the regulations together with the disputed Sixth Schedule. The association says the dispute is no longer only about whether the government has legal authority to impose the levy and licensing fee. It also concerns what it describes as the government failure to implement an agreement reached after it brought industry players to the negotiating table.
Following the original court challenge, Mining, Blue Economy and Maritime Affairs Cabinet Secretary Hassan Ali Joho established a ministry industry task force. It comprised government officials, representatives of the Council of Governors, the association and other stakeholders. The task force was mandated to examine the contentious regulations and develop practical recommendations for resolving the dispute. Months of consultations ended in a Joint Communiqué outlining an agreed way forward.
The association says it participated in the process in good faith. It expected the government to implement the recommendations and end the legal dispute. Instead, the association says, months later the agreed recommendations remain unimplemented. In a letter dated 27th August, association Secretary Pete Ondeng told State Department for Fisheries Principal Secretary Betsy Njagi that the primary objective remained finding a practical pathway towards implementation of the Joint Communiqué. Ondeng said the communiqué was jointly developed through the consultative process initiated by Joho.
The association has repeatedly sought a meeting with Joho to discuss the impasse but says it has failed to secure an audience with the Cabinet Secretary. Association Chairman Ochieng Mbeo said the association never intended to confront the government. He said when it first went to court in December 2024 it had exhausted other avenues available to protect thousands of Kenyans dependent on aquaculture. He said nearly two years into the dispute it is difficult to understand why a government initiated process that brought the state and industry players together has failed to produce implementation of the agreed recommendations.
Mbeo warned that the disputed charges could raise the cost of locally produced fish. They could also discourage investment and innovation, force small and medium scale operators out of business and undermine food security and employment. He said the proposed licensing fee is unsustainable and could force many out of business. The association is based in Kisumu and brings together players across the aquaculture value chain in the Lake Victoria region.
The association says the dispute exposes a policy contradiction in the government approach to the sector. It argues that while the government is promoting aquaculture as a pillar of the Blue Economy, the regulations could undermine the survival of the same industry it seeks to grow. The association also warns that the measures could worsen the plight of farmers already struggling with high feed and other input costs, limited access to financing, inadequate extension services and competition from cheaper imported fish.
The association argues that the combined effect of the charges could make aquaculture economically unviable. It says the charges could also distort fish prices and undermine Kenya’s food security objectives. Despite escalating the matter to the Court of Appeal, the association says it remains open to dialogue. In its latest letter to the Principal Secretary, the association asked for an opportunity to meet the Cabinet Secretary and present practical proposals for implementing the Joint Communiqué. Ondeng wrote that the association remains confident that with the necessary policy direction and goodwill a practical resolution can be found.
The association says the dispute now goes beyond the legality of the levy and licensing fee. It also wants the state to show whether it is prepared to honour the outcome of a consultative process it established itself. It questions whether the ambition of making aquaculture a pillar of the Blue Economy can survive regulations that the industry says could drive farmers out of business.