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Fear spreads among foreign traders as Ruto order takes hold.
Foreign small-scale traders in Kenya are shutting shops and packing up after President William Ruto ordered them out of businesses he says should be left to Kenyans.
Ruto spoke on Monday, 7 September, at State House during a meeting with micro, small and medium enterprise traders. He named hawking, small retail shops and kiosks, mobile money services, salons and small-scale manufacturing as areas foreigners should not be operating in. The law to give the order teeth has not been written yet.
The effect was immediate. Traders from neighbouring countries have closed businesses, and queues have formed outside embassies in Nairobi as some nationals look for a way home. The government has since asked Kenyans not to harass or attack foreigners, and has told Kenyans living in Burundi that they are safe.
What the lawyers say
The East Africa Law Society has faulted the President's remarks and asked Kenya to uphold the EAC Treaty and the Common Market Protocol, which guarantee free movement of goods, labour and people across member states. Experts have warned that the wording of the eventual law will decide whether it reads as protection for small Kenyan traders or as a move against particular countries.
Kenyan traders who met the President at State House backed him, saying they cannot compete with foreign sellers on price. Business groups, on the other hand, say the sudden clampdown has rattled investors.
Sources: The Standard, The Eastleigh Voice
That was a Kibra News Network report, read by an A I voice.
Foreign small-scale traders in Kenya are shutting shops and packing up after President William Ruto ordered them out of businesses he says should be left to Kenyans.
Ruto spoke on Monday, 7 September, at State House during a meeting with micro, small and medium enterprise traders. He named hawking, small retail shops and kiosks, mobile money services, salons and small-scale manufacturing as areas foreigners should not be operating in. The law to give the order teeth has not been written yet.
The effect was immediate. Traders from neighbouring countries have closed businesses, and queues have formed outside embassies in Nairobi as some nationals look for a way home. The government has since asked Kenyans not to harass or attack foreigners, and has told Kenyans living in Burundi that they are safe.
What the lawyers say
The East Africa Law Society has faulted the President’s remarks and asked Kenya to uphold the EAC Treaty and the Common Market Protocol, which guarantee free movement of goods, labour and people across member states. Experts have warned that the wording of the eventual law will decide whether it reads as protection for small Kenyan traders or as a move against particular countries.
Kenyan traders who met the President at State House backed him, saying they cannot compete with foreign sellers on price. Business groups, on the other hand, say the sudden clampdown has rattled investors.
KNN Newsroom is the staff byline for stories written, rewritten and edited at the Kibra News Network desk. Where a story credits an outside outlet, the original source is linked at the foot of the piece.
