Humanitarian crisis deepens inside Burundi Embassy

Burundian nationals flock to their embassy in Dennis Pritt, Nairobi, seeking travel documents to leave Kenya following President William Ruto’s directive on foreign-run small businesses. [David Gichuru, Standard]

The smell hits before the eyes can make sense of what lies ahead.

Along the perimeter fence of the Burundian Embassy in Nairobi, bedding, clothes and battered travel bags are scattered outside the gates, while several motorcycles squeezed into every available space stand as silent reminders of lives abruptly brought to a halt.

Using the items, men and women sit staring into space. Some look exhausted. Others appear confused, clutching papers in their hands, unsure of what the next hour — let alone the next few days — holds.

A handful have improvised small businesses. Doughnuts, coffee, ripe bananas and a few snacks are spread out for sale, perhaps in the hope that a few coins can buy a meal or raise enough money for the journey back home.

Inside the compound of the Burundian Embassy, the air hangs heavy with the stench of human waste, as hundreds of people have been caught between a country they no longer feel safe staying in and a homeland they cannot yet return to, scrambling for space.

The Standard visited the Embassy on Thursday, September 10, and found a desperate population seeking documentation to enable them to leave Kenya following President William Ruto's directive targeting foreign nationals engaged in small-scale businesses.

Ruto has since extended the period for regularisation of their stay in Kenya by 90 days.

There is little restriction at the entrance. But cameras attract stern looks and are frowned upon, forcing the visit to proceed without photography.

Inside, the ground is muddy and slippery. People walk carefully around puddles, belongings and makeshift sleeping areas.

There are few signs of organised humanitarian assistance.

One man pointed towards an open corner near the gate when this publication asked about the water flowing through the compound.

“The water is coming from that corner where we wash our feet. We don't bathe. It then flows downwards,” he said.

It is a telling description of life inside the Embassy.

For many of those gathered here, even basic hygiene has become a luxury. Bathing is nearly impossible. Some say they can only wash their feet before returning to their sleeping spaces.

Beyond the main buildings, a white tent stands amid the compound. It is when one moves further down that the full extent of the crisis becomes apparent.

Three women sit together preparing a meal of matoke. Nearby, a young child defecates in the open.

The women continue with their cooking as life goes on around them.

Asked whether they have received food or other assistance from the Embassy, one woman shakes her head in disagreement.

“Hizi chakula tunajinunulia tu. Hatujaona usaidizi wowote,” she says — they are buying the food themselves and have seen no assistance.

“We are just spending the night here in the cold. Tunahangaika sana,” she adds.

Further towards the fence, the sanitation situation is even more disturbing. The smell is unbearable.

A closer look reveals an open space being used as a toilet, apparently serving adults and children alike. The smell is overpowering. Human waste lies exposed, while flies swarm around it.

The Standard observed one latrine with faeces on the floor and flies hovering around it. Three other temporary toilets appeared to be in relatively better condition, although the sheer number of people using the facilities has placed immense pressure on sanitation.

For families with young children, the conditions are particularly punishing.

Just a few steps away from the temporary toilets, a woman sits beside her sleeping three-month-old baby.

She says the child is her second-born. She has lived in Kenya for about two years, but says fear forced her family to seek refuge at the Embassy.

“We came here on Tuesday after facing threats from where we were in Ruiru. Everybody we meet threatens us, telling us to go back to our country,” she says.

She points towards an open area surrounded by flower vegetation. “That is where we sleep,” she said.

There is no shelter, she explains, leaving families exposed to the cold at night.

Her greatest worry, however, is her baby.

“How do you sleep outside with a three-month-old child? We have nowhere else to go,” she shared, her face telling of a person resigned to fate.

Their problems... have been compounded by her husband's inability to go to work after being subjected to threats and mockery by colleagues.

“My husband can no longer go to work. We have nothing to eat. We can't continue staying in Kenya anymore. It is hostile,” she said.

For a mother holding a three-month-old infant, the journey to the Embassy was supposed to be a step towards safety and a return home. Instead, it has become another struggle for survival.

Her husband says the family has been surviving on whatever little they had left.

“We did not come here because we wanted to live like this. We came because we were afraid. We want our documents so that we can go home, but every day we wait and nothing happens,” he told The Standard anonymously.

He said their belongings remain packed as they wait for clearance.

“At night, we don't know where to put the child. During the day, we worry about food. Even washing ourselves is a problem. You wash your feet and that is all you can do,” he explained.

A few steps away, another young man sits on a concrete surface, repeatedly flipping through a sheaf of papers.

The documents are creased from being handled over and over again. His eyes move between the papers and the Embassy buildings as though willing an answer to emerge.

“The process is exhausting. This is my second day and I'm yet to get clearance to go back to Burundi,” he says.

Unlike some of those gathered at the Embassy, he says he has not experienced hostility from his neighbours in Kasarani.

“My neighbours are good people. They have not threatened me. But after what is happening, I feel it is better to go home,” said the father of two.

He was also a boda boda rider. His motorcycle, once a source of income, has now become a possible means of financing his escape.

“I want to sell the bike. If I sell it, I can get money for transport and go home. I don't know what else to do,” he said.

Nearby, another man waits for coffee to boil over an improvised cooking point.

A sack of mandazis lies beside him.

For him, he has turned the Embassy compound into a temporary business centre, hoping to make enough money from fellow migrants to finance his journey home.

He said he has no intention of building another life inside the Embassy.

“I am selling coffee and mandazi because I need transport money. If I can make enough in the next few days, I will leave. I just want to go home,” he says.

But as the days turn into uncertainty, the makeshift economy inside the compound tells a deeper story.

People who once depended on boda bodas, hawking, small shops and petty trade are now selling food to one another to survive the wait.

Their motorcycles, luggage and household belongings have become symbols of interrupted lives.

The situation follows President Ruto's remarks on September 2 at State House in Nairobi, where he directed that small-scale enterprises such as hawking, kiosks and petty retail should be reserved for Kenyan citizens, amid complaints from local traders about competition from foreigners.

The directive has triggered anxiety among foreign nationals engaged in small businesses, particularly those from neighbouring African countries.

For the Burundians gathered at the Embassy, the consequences have been immediate: businesses have been abandoned, some have faced threats, and families have been forced to consider returning home.

The crisis has also raised concerns beyond the immediate plight of those camping at the Embassy.

Religious leaders under the Inter-Religious Council of Kenya (IRCK) have condemned what they describe as harassment, violence and targeting of foreign nationals, particularly fellow Africans.

The clergy said the President's remarks were “unguarded and open to misinterpretation and abuse”, arguing that the Government should have been clearer about its intention to regularise the documentation of migrants living in Kenya.

They warned that presidential pronouncements carry enormous influence and could create anxiety among regional nationals who have traditionally regarded Kenya as a haven.

“Kenya is a member state of the East African Community and should therefore not make policy directives that go against the spirit of the EAC protocols on the free movement of persons for labour or employment,” they said on Thursday in a press briefing in Nairobi.

They also condemned attacks against Burundian small-scale traders and urged the authorities to protect foreign nationals from harassment.

“We condemn the violence and terror visited on some of the foreign nationals, particularly fellow Africans, and ask that Kenyan authorities, particularly the Ministry of Interior and National Administration, emphasise the assurance of their security and protection,” they said.

The clergy urged migrants to comply with the Government's call to regularise their stay while appealing to Kenyans to resist hostility towards foreigners.

They further cautioned politicians against inflammatory language as Kenya heads towards the August 10, 2027 General Election, warning that careless pronouncements could heighten anxiety and fuel violence.

This even as Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi defended Ruto's directive, saying the measures seek to protect vulnerable sectors of the economy, promote fair competition and protect the livelihoods of Kenyan citizens.

“Let me therefore clarify that Kenya is not implementing a blanket ban on foreign nationals engaging in small-scale business, but is seeking to ensure that their participation is consistent with the East African Community Common Market Protocol and applicable national law,” said Mudavadi on Thursday when he met diplomats in Nairobi.

He told diplomats that: “Kenya is open to small and large-scale trade by foreign nationals, as long as they are compliant with immigration, work permit, registration and licensing requirements."

And as the back-and-forth continues, somewhere between the smell of human waste, the muddy ground and the faint aroma of boiling coffee, the Burundians will continue waiting for the papers that could finally take them home.