'It's like a dog set loose on us' - fear over Kenya's crackdown on foreign traders

“It's like a dog set loose on us” - fear over Kenya's crackdown on foreign traders

Burundian tuk-tuk driver Ndaikech Ali says Kenya, which has been so welcoming to him for years, now feels hostile

For Ndaikech Ali, who has spent the past nine years moving through the streets of the Kenyan capital and earning a living as a tuk-tuk driver, Nairobi’s traffic — not xenophobia — has been his main worry.

During his years in the East African nation, the Burundian says Kenyans have always seemed friendly and welcoming — until last week, when the president ordered a crackdown on foreigners working as traders or running small-scale businesses.

“Now they have turned against us,” he told the BBC at the Burundian embassy in Nairobi, where many have been lining up this week for papers allowing them to travel back home.

“The threats are many… even from children,” he said, adding: “It's a like a dog has been set loose upon us. We have been bitten.”

President William Ruto made his comments last week while speaking to Kenyan traders gathered at state house, referring to legislation before parliament that aims to bar foreign nationals from petty trade and require the local sourcing of certain materials.

In his speech, he said all foreign nationals operating small businesses had until 7 September to shut down, arguing that such low-level jobs should be kept for Kenyans.

Ali, like others, panicked, saying it appeared the president’s announcement had been taken by some Kenyans as a sign that foreign nationals were no longer wanted in the country.

“We face harassment and can't work,” he says. “If our work is stopped, we lose the income that enables us to pay rent and buy food. When those jobs are taken away, the only option left is to return home.”

Other Burundians and some other foreign nationals have hurried to border crossing points to leave the country, with reports indicating that several have become stranded there.

Some couples fear they will be separated — and some families have already been split apart.

“I have been here from 2019,” said a Burundian man who gave only his first name, Prosper, and who has a child with a Kenyan woman.

“When I heard the announcement, it was very painful because when I go, I'm forced to leave my family... and I love my family,” he told the BBC.

In Majengo, a low-income area of Nairobi, Kenyan Grace Wamaitha said her Burundian husband had already left — departing the day after the president’s 3 September directive.

She is heartbroken, as she has been left trying to feed their five children and has taken on extra work washing clothes.

“Now he's gone, who will help me pay school fees? I don't know what to do. Let them come back,” she told the BBC.

In Nairobi and other large towns, migrants from the region can be seen working in barber shops and salons, construction, motorbike taxis and street vending, as well as selling clothes, food and household goods.

Some have fled conflict or economic hardship at home, while others have come to Kenya seeking better prospects. Within the East African Community (EAC), a regional bloc of eight countries including Burundi and Kenya, people are allowed relatively free movement — but jobs and long-term residence do require permits.

Kenyan law also recognises refugees’ right to work and run businesses, though they too must obtain the proper documents.

Filmon Eyob, a co-ordinator in Nairobi’s Eritrean community, shares concerns that the crackdown order will be used as a pretext to harass foreigners.

He told the BBC that while many Kenyans had been supportive and welcoming, some Eritreans and Ethiopians had closed their businesses and stayed home over the past week as a precaution.

The president’s remarks also triggered a diplomatic dispute, with the Burundian foreign affairs minister warning that “hate speech against Burundi” could have consequences for Kenyans abroad.

Kenyan authorities have struggled to manage the fallout — and as the issue reached a peak, Kenyan foreign affairs official Korir Sing'Oei visited the embassy this week, apologised to Burundians and assured them they would be protected from violence.

Critics say Ruto’s comments were a populist move that risked fuelling xenophobia, though the government has denied that.

Since then, a series of official statements has tried to clarify the directive.

The government has now allowed a 90-day period for undocumented foreign nationals running small businesses to register and comply with local laws. During that process, those undergoing registration will be presumed to be living legally in Kenya.

Burundian nationals flocked to their embassy in Nairobi after the announcement

Still, observers and those affected say it did not have to unfold this way.

Academic Hesbon Owilla told the BBC that the president’s remarks were certain to be misunderstood, especially by people without the correct documentation.

He says that while the proposed policy is good for Kenya and consistent with global migration protocols, the way it was communicated should have been more diplomatic.

For those not in the audience, Owilla says people took the president’s words to mean: “We are kicking these guys out.”

The president did not stop with small-scale traders. A day later, he ordered India’s Tata Chemicals to leave the country, saying the company had not delivered enough benefits to the local Maasai community in Kajiado county.

Tata has been mining soda ash for years in Lake Magadi, a vast area often covered by a whitish salt crust. The lake’s extreme briny conditions support algae blooms that attract flocks of pink flamingos that thrive there.

Mining at the lake began in 1911 under a British colonial arrangement that is said to have remained largely unchanged, despite long-running land and resource disputes between the company and its predecessors on one side and the community and government on the other.

Economist Odhiambo Ramogi says the move to restrict foreign nationals from businesses is too sweeping and could use refinement.

He notes that Kenya hosts hundreds of thousands of refugees as well as other migrants, mostly from the EAC region, along with other international investors.

Ramogi says Ruto’s aim appeared to go beyond “just protecting jobs for Kenyans”.

The president’s remarks have drawn a wave of support for foreign nationals, including from civil society groups and ordinary Kenyans who have criticised his approach.

Following the criticism, Ruto, who faces re-election next year, has tried to push back against the backlash.

“Kenya will remain an open, secure and welcoming country, protecting opportunities for its citizens, safeguarding the rights of all persons lawfully within its borders,” a statement from his spokesman said.

“Kenya's commitment to the East African Community of the African continent remains firm.”

Ramogi says that in the end, Kenya stands to lose when citizens of neighbouring countries are targeted.

He points out that Kenya earned $56m (£41m) in exports to Burundi last year, adding that the country would still gain from allowing competition, because “locking out aliens simply means you don't want a competitive economy that gets to grow a lot faster”.

“Now, if you got $56m out of a country, why are you worried about a hawker who's just trying to make, say, $200 in a month?

“It absolutely makes no sense what the president has done.”

For Nairobi resident Lima Kabura, whose husband is Tanzanian, the president’s remarks were simply too rushed. She says he should first have identified those who were in the country illegally.

“When they are forced out, I'm left with no work, no business and no husband,” she said.