Kenya gives foreign workers 90 days to formalise their status after backlash

Kenya has given foreign workers 90 days to formalise their status, seeking to calm fears after President William Ruto ordered foreigners to stop hawking or running small shops.

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We have made efforts to improve the economy, we have not improved investor confidence for hawkers to come to Kenya.

The initial order gave foreign traders until Monday to cease operating. It caused particular concern among Burundians who earn a living through street vending in Nairobi. On Monday, hundreds gathered outside Burundi’s embassy to apply for border passes and prepare to return home. Reports also said some Burundians had been attacked.

The government has since clarified that its target was illegal business activity, not foreign workers as such. In a statement on Tuesday, the president’s office said authorities would conduct “an orderly regularisation exercise” over the next 90 days so migrants could obtain the correct work permits and licences. After that period, it warned, immigration rules would be enforced “firmly and strictly in accordance with the law.”

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We will conduct an orderly regularisation exercise.

Citizens of the East African Community can obtain work permits free of charge, but many have not completed the registration process. Burundi and Kenya are both members of the regional bloc, whose citizens benefit from freedom of movement.

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Our main aim is to know how you are living, where you are, that you have identification, and that your jobs are registered.

Kenya’s junior foreign minister, Korir Sing’Oei, apologised to Burundians on Monday. “Our main aim is to know how you are living, where you are, that you have identification, and that your jobs are registered,” he said. He also said many had been attacked by neighbours and friends because of a lack of understanding.

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Many have been attacked by their neighbours and their friends.