Miraa Traders, exporters and transporters have been urged to join hands to clear a Sh5 million legal bill charged to Nyambene Miraa Trade Association (Nyamita)
Nyamita had filed a class suit against Kenya Airports Authority in April seeking to stop a Sh4,000 levy charged to every miraa vehicle entering Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA).
Nyamita, through lawyer Henry Kurauka, had also sought a refund of about Sh100 million collected from transporters by KAA since July 2022.
The miraa lobby argued that the levy was unconstitutional, illegal, oppressive and discriminatory since other produce are not charged.
In June, KAA settled the matter out of court and stopped charging the illegal levy.
However, the association was to pay its legal fees which amounts to Sh5 million.
Nyamita spokesman Kimathi Munjuri said they agreed to the out of court settlement after considering the costs of a protracted legal tussle.
“As NYAMITA, we are glad KAA corrected the illegality it has been meting on us for the last two years. However, we are now staring at a huge legal bill which the association cannot foot on its own.
“We are urging exporters, transporters who are the direct beneficiaries of the impugned KAA fees to be cooperative we raise and pay the dues soonest.” Mr Munjuri said.
He added, “This underscores the critical need for Nyamita to keep active revenue flows through active memberships and other plausible avenues.”
Players in the miraa sector have in the past relied on donations from politicians to file critical legal suits.
In 2013, politicians and the county government contributed Sh7 million to fight the miraa ban in the UK.
