By Enyichukwu Enemanna
Kenya’s President William Ruto has announced a temporary amnesty to protect undocumented nationals from neighbouring East African countries, after hundreds of Burundians flocked to their country’s embassy in Nairobi on Monday, seeking to process travel documents to return home, as the deadline to crackdown on small-scale traders from abroad reached.
Ruto had last week called on authorities to shutdown all small-scale businesses operated by foreign traders, with effect from Monday, following a meeting with Kenyan traders who had been protesting against tax reforms.
The order, which Kenya’s trade ministry said applied to foreigners operating without work permits, created chaotic scene outside Burundi’s embassy in Nairobi on Monday, with some Burundians claiming they had been threatened by neighbours since Ruto’s order.
There were no signs of a crackdown in Nairobi on Monday, and a spokesperson for Ruto’s administration later said the government had a policy of “absolute zero tolerance toward any form of harassment, intimidation, or xenophobia”, and urged undocumented nationals from other East African countries, and specifically from Burundi, to formally register at their embassies.
“For the duration of this designated registration period, all individuals undergoing registration will be presumed legally present in the Republic of Kenya. This window is designed to bring our brothers and sisters out of the shadows, ensuring they can access health, banking, and legal protections without fear,” the spokesperson said in a statement.
“This administrative regularization will be conducted in close coordination with our regional partners.”
There are about 16,000 Burundian refugees and asylum seekers in Kenya, according to the U.N. refugee agency. Many work in small-scale businesses in Nairobi, selling items such as coffee and used clothes.
Clutching suitcases and assorted possessions, crowds of mostly young men formed long queues outside Burundi’s embassy in Nairobi on Monday morning.
Ruto’s critics have accused him of blaming Kenya’s economic difficulties on foreigners as he looks to an election next year, when he is due to stand for a second term.
“When a state runs out of answers for a collapsing economy, it invariably goes looking for an enemy,” activist Hanifa Adan recently wrote in the Daily Nation newspaper.
On Thursday, Ruto ordered India’s Tata Chemicals to stop operations in Kenya, saying its presence had failed to benefit the East African country.
Tata Chemicals said it respected the authority of Kenya’s government and remained committed to constructive engagement.
