MAUA, Kenya, June 20, 2022 (BSS/AFP) - As the afternoon sun starts to dip

over central Kenya, the town of Maua buzzes with activity as the khat harvest
arrives.

For decades, over half a million people in this region have lived by the
rhythms of khat, a mildly narcotic native shrub also known as miraa.

Trading here in khat is a well-established routine.

Every day, young miraa shoots -- instantly identifiable by their red stems --
are bundled and wrapped in banana leaves, packed in bags and loaded onto
pickup trucks.

Drivers then zip along roads at breakneck speed in an effort to ensure that
the khat is fresh when it reaches consumers in northern and eastern Kenya, as
well as the capital Nairobi, located 300 kilometres (200 miles) south.

But for the last two years and counting, no air shipments of Kenyan khat have
made it to Somalia.

The country is notoriously poor and unstable yet is one of the biggest
markets for khat, which is chewed to provide a stimulant and suppress the
appetite.

Mogadishu initially banned air cargo in March 2020 due to the coronavirus
pandemic, but diplomatic tensions between Kenya and Somalia have kept the ban
in place even as other Covid-19 restrictions have been lifted.

The election of President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud in Somalia last month raised
hopes of a thaw in ties with Nairobi, and on June 10, Kenyan Agriculture
Minister Peter Munya announced that Mogadishu had agreed to resume air
shipments of khat.

The news has sparked cautious excitement in Maua, where people are
increasingly impatient for change.

- 'Like a rebirth' -

Although Munya promised that air links would resume "within two weeks",
Somalia's new government has maintained a conspicuous silence on the issue.

"The resumption (of trade) would be like a rebirth" for the region, said
Kimathi Munjuri, chairman of the Nyambene Miraa Traders Association in
central Kenya.

But he remained circumspect, noting that similar announcements in the past
never materialised into facts on the ground.

Prior to the ban, around a third of the 150 tonnes of khat shipped daily went
to Somalia, representing a loss of earnings of up to 16 million Kenyan
shillings ($136,000), he said.

Somalia has been a crucial export market for Kenyan khat traders ever since
the Netherlands and Britain imposed a ban in 2012 and 2014 respectively,
joining the ranks of other Western nations which classify it as a drug.

- 'At a loss' -

Khat grower David Muchoka is among those desperate to see the resumption of
air links to Mogadishu.

The ban saw his earnings plunge, he said, forcing the father-of-six to
venture into dairy farming to pay the bills.

"Back in the days we could make up to 100,000 shillings ($850) in one month,
but now we can only make around 6,000-10,000 a month," the 53-year-old told
AFP.

"We still sell miraa but at a loss, the returns can't sustain the effort of
maintaining the farm and paying school fees."

The income from the trade irrigated the whole region, locals told AFP.

"Most of the shops here have closed, vehicles that used to transport khat are
idle, most of the people can no longer send their children to school," said
Alex Koome, a Maua resident.

- 'Like a monopoly' -

Many here dream of a day when Maua will once again be in thrall to the frenzy
of a trade which animated the town 24 hours a day.

"Maua never slept... We want that vibrancy, that rush, that adrenaline
again," Munjuri told AFP with a smile.

From the early hours, traffic jams obstructed the city centre where khat
farmers, dealers and transporters crossed paths.

Dozens of pick-ups -- carrying up to a tonne of cargo -- honked their way
across villages and towns as they hurtled down the road to their destination,
sometimes travelling at speeds of up to 150 kilometres (nearly 95 miles) per
hour.

For Joseph M'Eruaki, former director of social development at the non-profit
Caritas in Meru County, where Maua is located, the ban has revealed a
dangerous dependence on khat.

"We must diversify the livelihood sources if we don't want the people to
remain vulnerable," he said, suggesting that farmers could instead grow crops
like amaranth, sorghum, mango or avocados.

The entrepreneur, who is now running for MP in Kenya's August elections, is
also batting for more regulatory oversight of a trade that boasts an
unsavoury reputation at times.

"Miraa is controlled by a few people who get the most benefits at the expense
of farmers... They control the market, they control prices, they control the
flow, it's like a monopoly," he said.

"It is a legal crop, it needs to be organised. Like the tea sector or the
coffee sector," he told AFP.