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For weeks now, an interesting controversy has been raging in Kenya about a popular seasoning product made by the Anglo-Dutch consumer goods giant Unilever. The government through the National Biosafety Authority announced it would stop the sale of Aromat in the country because it contains genetically modified ingredients that could harm consumers. Kenya banned production or importation of genetically modified organisms in 2012.

Unilever has gone to court, arguing that Aromat has been on shop shelves for 13 years in Kenya and that the GMOs ban, although a Cabinet decision, is not backed by any law. The multinational further argues that the government has not tabled any evidence indicating that Aromat has any adverse effect on consumers arising from its GMO ingredients.

While the hearing of the case is awaited, Aromat remains in the shops. But there is now a bizarre twist to the whole issue. It has emerged that the government of Kenya is in fact planning to lift its ban on GMOs. So, why purport to stop the sale of Aromat? Last week Deputy President William Ruto told an international agricultural conference here in Nairobi that the government was considering allowing GMOs to boost food production and alleviate poverty.

Still last week, the country’s governors (heads of the 47 counties created by the 2010 constitution) asked the government to lift the GMOs ban. They said the ban had contributed to food shortages in Kenya. Kisumu Governor Jack Ranguma, chair of the governors’ biotechnology committee, said the conventional methods of farming no longer met the country’s needs.

Pressure is piling on the government. It is not just politicians and corporates like Unilever who are pushing for GMOs. The country’s researchers and academics have in recent months used various platforms, including conferences and the media, to urge the government to embrace biotechnology.