The government of Kenya has halted the expulsion of foreign traders, especially from the East African Community, dealing in small-scale trade in Kenya to allow for their registration and documentation.
In a statement issued by the spokesperson of the Kenya State House, Mr Hussein Mohamed, yesterday, the government would regularise the immigration status and stay of foreigners who are operating small-scale businesses or who are undocumented.
‘Over the next 90 days, the government will conduct an orderly regularisation exercise to facilitate compliance. The process will be coordinated by the relevant government agencies, in consultation with the embassies concerned, to provide affected persons with a clear and structured opportunity to regularise their immigration status and business operations in accordance with the law,’ Mr Muhamed said.
He added: ‘At the conclusion of the 90-day regularisation period, immigration, work-permit, registration and licensing requirements will be enforced firmly and strictly in accordance with the law and due process.’
Last week, President William Ruto directed the enforcement teams to crack down on foreigners in small-scale businesses in Kenya starting this week. Mr Ruto also mentioned Ugandans, whom he said he would meet first.
Mr Ruto said small-scale businesses, like retail trade, should be left to Kenyans.
Since his pronouncement, some errant Kenyans have taken the law into their hands, targeting foreigners dealing in small-scale businesses.
Videos that went viral appeared to show youth looting food stores of suspected foreigners. Other videos showed motorcyclists suspected to be foreigners being stopped by youth before being seized.
Ugandans were among the victims. Hundreds of Ugandans fled Kenya, fearing that they might be attacked and their businesses looted.
After the chaotic start of the operation, traders from the East African Community (EAC) in Kenya complained and also called on their governments to issue retaliatory policies.
The Kenyan government has bought time to ease the tensions.
In video statement on Monday, Kenya government spokesperson Charles Owino said foreigners operating small scale business or illegally will not be expelled until the processes are done.
‘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 so that they can access health, banking and legal protection without fear,’ Mr Owino said.
Although the Kenyan government didn’t admit to incidents of xenophobia, it insisted that they wouldn’t allow anyone to harass foreigners.
Despite the assurance, hundreds of Ugandans, Burundians, Rwandans and Congolese continued to flee from Kenya into Uganda by road.
Ugandan lawmakers, led by Ms Jacklyne Sange, the Kween Woman MP, who were on a fact-finding mission on the operation of the One Stop Border Point, cross border trade and the functionality of the EAC, visited Lwakhakha border yesterday, witnessed non-Kenyans fleeing Kenya.
Mr Peter Okeyoh, the MP for Bukooli Island County, said at Lwakhkha border, 200 non-Kenyans fled to Uganda on Monday. He added that the crackdown threatens to derail the EAC agenda of a common market.
”How do you arrest a national from a member state because you want to protect jobs for your people, yet we keep talking about the common market and free movement of goods and people across the region?” MP Okeyoh wondered.
MP Sange said the expulsion was against the will of the EAC integration.
”We want people to move freely in the region and to carry out businesses provided they don’t conflict with the laws of the individual partner states,” he said, promising to have the matters brought before Parliament after the end of the recess.
Mr John Charles Namayindi, the Busia District chairperson, said the people of the EAC are one, separated by artificial borders that were created by colonialists, adding that all nationals should freely move within the region in search of opportunities.
”If some member states are restricting their economy for their own people, this is like telling us the EAC has collapsed,” he said.
The returnees named Nyalende in Kisumu City, East Eastleigh and Dandora in Nairobi City among the places where foreigners were targeted.
Mr Ronald Egondi, a Ugandan trader, who has been operating a string of electronic shops in Busia Kenya, Kisumu and Nairobi, said some of his workers were attacked in Nairobi and his shop looted.
He said workers only survived after they fled and sought refuge at the nearby police station.
Mr Nicholas Opio, a returnee, said in Eastleigh and Dandora in Kenya, Burundians, Sudanese and Congolese nationals operating food kiosks were attacked.
”The youth were moving from shop to shop asking traders to produce their national identity cards, and those who did not were attacked, beaten and their businesses looted,” said Mr Opio, a guard in Rwayi in Nairobi City.