Foreigners in small shops and hawking must close from Monday -President William Ruto

KENYA: Ruto: Foreigners in small shops and hawking must close from Monday -President William Ruto has ordered a crackdown on foreigners running small businesses in Kenya, saying those trades belong to Kenyans. He issued the directive on Wednesday while meeting MSME traders at State House. The clampdown, he said, starts Monday, 7 September. “From next […]

KENYA: Ruto: Foreigners in small shops and hawking must close from Monday -President William Ruto has ordered a crackdown on foreigners running small businesses in Kenya, saying those trades belong to Kenyans.

He issued the directive on Wednesday while meeting MSME traders at State House. The clampdown, he said, starts Monday, 7 September.

“From next week, all traders doing those small businesses should close them,” Ruto said. He was blunt about who Kenya is trying to attract: investors, not hawkers. “We have not improved investor confidence for hawkers to come to Kenya.”

He pointed to street hawking and small retail shops including people selling duvets and similar goods. “It cannot be that a person comes from China or elsewhere to be a hawker or open a small shop.” Traders in the room cheered.

Trade CS Lee Kinyanjui has been told to start the exercise as soon as he returns from Addis Ababa. Ruto said government will not sit and wait for Parliament to pass a new law first. Action will be administrative.

A Local Content Bill already before Parliament would reserve some businesses for Kenyans. Ruto asked traders to help tighten it so foreigners cannot slip into petty trade. Kenya, he said, is still open to big investment not to foreigners competing with local hawkers and kiosk owners.

The complaint is not new. Kenyan traders have for months said Chinese nationals and traders from neighbouring countries have moved into informal retail in places like Gikomba, Muthurwa and Marikiti. Politicians have raised the same issue. Tanzania has already restricted foreigners in some small trades, and Kenya’s move could complicate regional business ties.

What is still unclear: exactly which businesses fall under the order, which agencies will enforce it, whether East African Community citizens get different treatment, and what happens if someone refuses to close.

For now the message from State House is simple. From Monday, foreigners in hawking and small shops are expected to shut down or face action.