Africa: When Protecting Local Traders Turns Foreigners Into Targets

What the report says

Burundian nationals lined up outside their embassy in Nairobi’s Kilimani area on 7 September to obtain laissez-passers, temporary travel papers that would let them leave Kenya without valid passports. The scene came days after President William Ruto told small-business representatives that the government would move against foreigners involved in hawking and small retail, arguing that some kinds of trade should be left to Kenyans. The article is an African Arguments analysis republished by AllAfrica.

According to the piece, the government later tried to narrow the reach of the president’s remarks. Trade Cabinet Secretary Lee Kinyanjui said visa-free entry does not give someone a right to work or trade, while Foreign Affairs Principal Secretary Korir Sing’Oei said foreigners with proper permits and licences would remain protected. Even so, the analysis argues that the political message had already created fear among foreign traders and migrants, including reports of harassment and online confrontations.

The commentary says the episode matters because Kenya is trying to protect local traders while also operating within the East African Community, which promotes freer movement of people and services. It warns that broad, nationality-based enforcement could encourage profiling or vigilante action, especially in informal markets where citizens and migrants often work under similar conditions. The author compares the risk to patterns seen in South Africa, where economic complaints have sometimes fed anti-migrant intimidation. The piece concludes that any crackdown should rely on clear legal checks, not public hostility, to avoid turning immigration enforcement into xenophobic targeting.