By Semafor Africa
Photos: YouTube Screenshots
Kenya’s crackdown on foreign hawkers and small-scale traders has exposed a tension in President William Ruto’s economic agenda in trying to protect jobs for Kenyans while keeping the country open to foreign capital and regional trade.
Hundreds of Burundians have sought help leaving Kenya after Ruto ordered authorities to shut down businesses operated by foreigners, prompting fears of harassment and xenophobia. “We will go home but this is very unfair to us,” one Burundian street trader told Semafor. “These jobs we do, no Kenyan wants to do them.”
The government has offered undocumented East Africans 90 days to regularize their status. But the move comes days after Ruto ordered India’s Tata Chemicals to leave Kenya, suggesting a broader “local benefit” agenda.
Critics see echoes of the anti-migrant populism seen elsewhere, with Ruto facing a tough re-election campaign in August 2027.
