President William Ruto’s recent remarks on Burundian immigrants operating businesses in Kenya have opened an uncomfortable conversation about who gets to work, trade and build a livelihood across East Africa.
The President’s message was blunt: foreigners should not take over businesses that Kenyans can operate. For many struggling traders, this sounds like overdue protection. For others, particularly within the East African Community, it raises a more difficult question: where does protecting local enterprise end and regional integration begin?
There is a legitimate argument behind the government’s position.
Kenyan traders operate in an increasingly difficult environment, battling taxation, expensive credit, high rents and weak consumer spending. When undocumented foreigners enter the same businesses without proper permits, evade taxes or employ workers outside Kenyan labour regulations, the playing field is plainly unfair.
The government should enforce the law.
But the distinction between an illegal foreigner and a foreigner who happens to be a competitor must not be lost.
A Burundian who is legally resident, has the appropriate permit, pays taxes and complies with Kenyan laws is not taking advantage of Kenya merely by operating a business. He is participating in the economy — just as Kenyans do in other countries.
And this is where Kenya must be careful.
Kenya is a major beneficiary of labour mobility. Thousands of Kenyans work outside the country, from nurses in Britain and the Gulf to engineers, teachers, construction workers, hospitality workers and professionals across Africa. Many also operate businesses abroad.
They contribute enormously to Kenya.
The Central Bank of Kenya recorded diaspora remittances of about $4.96 billion in the year to June 2026. That money pays school fees, builds homes, supports families and injects foreign currency into the economy.
It would therefore be difficult for Kenya to argue that its citizens deserve opportunities abroad while simultaneously suggesting that citizens of neighbouring countries should have fewer opportunities here.
This is not merely a question of generosity. It is also a question of treaties and national interest.
The EAC Common Market is founded on the movement of people, workers, goods, services and capital, alongside the rights of establishment and residence. These freedoms are subject to national laws and legitimate restrictions, but the broader objective is clear: East Africans should increasingly be able to participate in a shared regional economy.
Kenya cannot enthusiastically promote the Common Market when it benefits Kenyan exporters and workers, then retreat behind its borders when competition becomes uncomfortable.
But regional integration cannot mean abandoning local businesses either.
There must be rules.
Foreign traders should obtain the required permits. Businesses should be registered. Taxes should be paid. Labour laws should be followed. Immigration officials should know who is entering and why. Equally, enforcement should be predictable and applied without harassment, discrimination or collective punishment.
The government’s reported decision to give foreign traders time to regularise their documentation is therefore more sensible than indiscriminate expulsions.
But there is an even bigger issue that deserves attention.
If a small foreign-owned shop can seriously threaten a Kenyan trader, perhaps the real problem is not the foreigner.
Perhaps it is the environment in which Kenyan businesses operate.
Why is credit so expensive? Why are taxes and licences so burdensome? Why do small traders struggle to access affordable premises, technology and financing? Why do Kenyan manufacturers struggle to compete with imported goods?
Removing Burundian traders will not answer these questions.
Nor will blaming immigrants solve unemployment.
Kenya needs an economic strategy that makes its citizens competitive rather than simply making competitors disappear.
The country can protect its citizens while respecting its regional commitments. It can insist on documentation without encouraging xenophobia. It can regulate immigration without turning nationality into a crime.
Most importantly, Kenya should remember that borders work both ways.
Today, the conversation is about Burundians in Nairobi. Tomorrow, it could be Kenyan nurses in London, engineers in Kigali, traders in Kampala or construction workers in the Gulf.
When Kenyans ask other countries to open their labour markets to us, we make a powerful argument: that opportunity should be based on rules, qualifications and lawful participation — not nationality alone.
Kenya should demand the same standard at home.
The answer to foreign competition should be better regulation and stronger Kenyan enterprise, not closing the door on East Africa.
Because the Kenya we build today will determine how welcome Kenyans feel when they cross someone else’s border tomorrow.
