Dr. Daniel Katambo, a consultant physician and founder of Afyacode Ltd, has called for more research and regulation on genetically modified foods, highlighting their potential benefits while cautioning about unknown long-term effects.
Speaking in an interview with Radio Generation, Katambo said genetically modified organisms, or GMO foods, are becoming increasingly common in plants, animals, and other food products.
“Out there, food is really GMO, genetically modified, whether organism, whether plants, whether animals, whether all this stuff. And I don’t see that this is actually some of these things,” he explained on Friday.
He pointed out that while GMOs have been used successfully in medical treatments, such as cystic fibrosis, their long-term effects in food remain uncertain.
“Honestly, we do not. We can’t say we have concrete evidence on how this goes in terms of food,” Katambo said, noting that current studies mostly show associations rather than direct causes of disease. He suggested that within the next decade, research may reveal stronger links between certain foods and health conditions, including cancer.
Katambo emphasized that some GMO foods are engineered to resist pesticides and disease, increase yield, and improve nutritional quality. However, he stressed the importance of proper regulation.
“Honestly, they are not. We just need regulation. We just need to make sure that you… yeah, I’m totally biased, but I will tell you for sure for me, yeah, I think if there is science and you can change something for the betterment of the community, then it’s fine in where I sit,” he said.
He drew parallels between GMOs in agriculture and gene therapy in medicine. Using cystic fibrosis as an example, he explained how genetic modification can prevent severe disease.
“Cystic fibrosis is a disease that you develop and you have your cilia… motivity is aided by some gene in your nucleus. When you have cystic fibrosis, this motility is impaired… you get pneumonia all the time… When it comes to sperm production, you produce sperm, but then it can’t swim… if, now I said I don’t like genetics, yeah. And yet we have treatment where somebody can modify that gene, get gene therapy… When they are born, they do not have this disease,” Katambo said.
The physician concluded that the same principle can apply to crops and food. “If we have a wall that is in Kambani that has been eating, you modify. You can modify, and people just make sure that they harvest more,” he added, advocating for responsible use of genetic modification in both medicine and agriculture.
This discussion comes as Kenya officially joined the league of countries allowing the cultivation, importation, and consumption of genetically modified foods. On November 25, 2024, the High Court cleared the last legal hurdle for the government to lift a 14-year ban on GMOs, originally imposed over health, safety, and environmental concerns.
Justice Lawrence Mugambi ruled that disputes and fears about GMO foods had been conclusively addressed by the Environment and Lands Court (ELC), noting that “the Environment and Lands Court considered all implications of allowing GMO foods in the country and the safety measures put in place, and concluded that existing laws are in harmony with the need for a clean and healthy environment.”
He added that since the ELC enjoys the same status as the High Court, he could not interfere with its findings, and the petitions against lifting the ban were res judicata, meaning the issue had already been decided.
The ban, first introduced in 2012, was set to be lifted following a 2022 resolution by President William Ruto’s administration to allow GMO importation to cushion Kenyans against food shortages.
However, the Law Society of Kenya and other activists have challenged the move, arguing it was done hastily without proper assessments of environmental, health, and social impacts, and cautioning that there is no conclusive scientific evidence confirming the safety of GMO foods.
