- Kenyan Civil Society Groups Warn Foreign-Trader Crackdown Risks Xenophobia and EAC Tensions
A coalition of 23 civil society and regional organisations has urged Kenya to reconsider the way restrictions affecting foreign informal traders are being communicated and implemented, warning that the policy risks fuelling nationality-based discrimination and undermining East African integration.
The groups said Kenya retains the sovereign right to regulate immigration, employment and business activity, but argued that enforcement must remain lawful, proportionate and consistent with its regional obligations. “Our concern is not that Kenya is enforcing its laws, but that legitimate regulation may be perceived or applied in ways that result in nationality-based exclusion or unequal treatment,” the coalition said.
The joint statement, dated September 9, follows President William Ruto’s pronouncement on foreign participation in small-scale trade and a subsequent State House announcement granting foreign nationals a 90-day window to regularise their immigration and licensing status.
The government also directed that the Local Content Bill, 2025 be expanded to create a framework governing participation in small-scale trade. The coalition welcomed the 90-day period and Kenya’s restated commitment to the East African Community and African Continental Free Trade Area, but described the reprieve as “not a remedy”.
The organisations allege that uncertainty surrounding the original announcement has already had consequences for some foreign residents, citing Burundian nationals who queued for emergency travel documents, businesses that closed and reports of threats, harassment and loss of property.
Those claims are presented in the coalition’s statement and are not independently established by the document itself. The groups argue that such outcomes would sit uneasily with Kenya’s broader Shirika Plan, which seeks to promote socioeconomic inclusion through legal documentation, financial access and participation in labour markets.
A central part of the coalition’s legal argument is that citizens of other EAC Partner States occupy a different position from other foreign nationals because Kenya has treaty obligations relating to free movement, labour, services, establishment and residence.
The statement acknowledges that those rights remain subject to national laws and do not make settlement automatic or unconditional. Its concern is instead that immigration enforcement and local-content policy risk being merged in ways that may conflict with the purpose of the EAC Common Market framework.
The coalition also disputes the use of the Local Content Bill as the legal or policy basis for restricting informal traders. It argues that the proposed legislation was primarily designed to regulate the participation of foreign companies and multinational businesses in procurement, employment, agriculture and other areas of domestic value creation rather than immigration enforcement.
According to the statement, the Bill’s focus includes promoting local sourcing, domestic labour, locally manufactured goods and services, stronger tax compliance and greater benefits from supply chains.
That distinction matters because the coalition says the current debate risks turning a policy originally aimed at large foreign enterprises into one focused disproportionately on small traders. “Local content does not simply mean ‘Kenyans Only’ where EAC obligations exist,” the statement said.
The groups argue that any restrictions on informal traders should therefore be tested against Kenya’s Common Market commitments rather than treated simply as an extension of local-content policy.
President Ruto’s remarks on foreign hawkers are also at the centre of the dispute. The statement quotes him as saying, “We will not build investor confidence to attract hawkers into Kenya. What we have built is for investors, not traders and hawkers,” in a translated version of his comments.
The coalition describes that framing as discriminatory, while Kenyan officials have separately argued that the President’s remarks have been taken out of context, highlighting the contested political interpretation surrounding the policy.
Beyond legal and human-rights concerns, the coalition argues that restrictions on foreign informal traders could produce economic consequences. It warns that excluding traders may reduce Value Added Tax receipts and weaken domestic revenue mobilisation, while also creating the risk of reciprocal restrictions against Kenyan businesses operating elsewhere in the region.
Those are forward-looking claims made by the signatories rather than quantified outcomes, but they highlight the potential tension between domestic protection measures and regional commercial integration.
The groups argue that the policy debate would be better framed around “Value Addition” rather than “Citizen Entitlements”. In their view, Kenya could better protect domestic economic interests by focusing on the contribution companies and traders make through employment, taxation, local sourcing and productive activity rather than nationality alone. Such an approach, they argue, could strengthen the tax base and local enterprise while reducing the risk that protectionist measures evolve into wider regional retaliation.
The statement also calls for clearer public communication on the legal categories applying to EAC citizens, refugees and other foreign nationals. It argues that better public understanding could help reduce harassment and prevent confusion between immigration status, regional rights and participation in formal or informal economic activity. The coalition additionally warns that anti-immigrant sentiment could damage Kenya’s diplomatic, humanitarian and commercial reputation if it is allowed to escalate.
Kenya’s regional role gives the issue wider significance. The coalition notes that the country is preparing to co-host the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations with Uganda and Tanzania and argues that it should use that platform to reinforce its image as a reliable regional partner.
It said Kenya should seek to present itself as an “Exemplar State” that combines protection of domestic interests with openness towards regional and continental partners.
The statement ultimately calls on Kenya and other EAC Partner States to ensure that enforcement measures are “transparent, evidence-based, and consistent with regional commitments” while still supporting national development.
It also asks the Kenyan government to clarify how the policy will be implemented and provide assurances on the safety and security of neighbouring-country nationals. The coalition warns that vague enforcement risks creating what it calls a “creeping siege mentality” capable of worsening relations with regional partners.
The signatories include Amnesty International Kenya, the Kenya Human Rights Commission, Transparency International Kenya, the Pan African Lawyers Union, AFRODAD, SEATINI, the Institute for Social Accountability and the East African Tax and Governance Network, among others.
Their intervention turns what began as a domestic debate over foreign hawkers into a larger test of how Kenya balances national economic policy with EAC integration and non-discrimination commitments. The policy challenge will be whether Nairobi can protect legitimate local economic interests without allowing enforcement to become nationality-based exclusion or trigger a wider regional backlash.
