President William Ruto’s directive banning foreign nationals from operating as street hawkers and micro-traders has triggered fear and controversy in Kenya’s urban business centres, with the fallout increasingly visible on social media.
Speaking during a Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) meeting with traders and businesspeople at State House on September 2, 2026, Ruto said foreigners should not occupy low-capital trading opportunities that could benefit Kenyans.
The directive gives non-Kenyan vendors selling small goods, including coffee, clothes and snacks, until Monday, September 7, to stop operating, aiming at protecting opportunities for Kenyans and addressing youth unemployment.
Ruto said Kenya’s efforts to attract foreign capital were intended to bring in major investments, create jobs and strengthen the economy, rather than encourage foreign nationals to compete with Kenyans in small-scale retail.
“We have a Bill in Parliament that there are some trading activities that foreigners can’t do in Kenya. By law, nataka mketi chini na wafanyibiashara waangalie kwa sababu hatujapitisha so that we seal all the loopholes so that mtu asitoke China kuja kuwa hawker,” Ruto said.
He added: “As we wait for the law to go on, administratively, from next week, Lee (Kinyanjui) akirudi kutoka Addis. Hawa wachuuzi ambao wanafanya biashara ndogo ndogo wafunge na wasipofunga. Hatujajenga investor confidence ndo hawkers wakuje Kenya. Ile tumejenga ni for investors, si traders and hawkers.”
The directive has particularly unsettled foreign vendors, including a sizeable community of Burundians operating in towns such as Nairobi.
Videos widely shared on social media and seen by TNX Africa show some vendors appealing to government officials to allow them to continue working. Some say they have established families in Kenya and have lived and worked in the country without breaking the law.
The directive has also drawn mixed reactions from Kenyans.
Community leaders and human rights advocates have warned that rhetoric surrounding foreign traders could fuel hostility against non-citizens.
In several videos circulating online, some Kenyans are seen confronting foreign vendors ahead of any formal enforcement of the directive.
In one clip, individuals appear to take goods from a vendor without paying, while another shows a person threatening a foreign trader.
Critics have also raised concerns that a broad crackdown could affect refugees and other legally resident foreigners alongside undocumented workers.
The move comes as the government pushes legislation aimed at strengthening local participation in certain sectors of the economy. The proposed Local Content Bill seeks to restrict foreign participation in some forms of retail and require larger foreign businesses to employ a higher proportion of Kenyan workers.
However, economists and regional observers warn that the policy could have consequences beyond Kenya’s borders.
Thousands of Kenyans operate small businesses in neighbouring countries, including Burundi, Uganda and Rwanda, raising concerns that retaliatory measures could affect Kenyan traders abroad.
The debate has meanwhile spilled onto social media, with some Kenyans supporting the government’s position while others accuse it of scapegoating foreigners for the country’s unemployment crisis.
On X, Salim Ibrahim wrote: “Upuuzi mtupu, Hakuna mtu anafungia mwengine riziki, tafuteni kazi acheni kunyanyasa wengine. We have been having unemployment issues way before these guys came. The government is just looking for scapegoats and you are falling for it.”
Another user, Steve, wrote: “Hakuna mtu amekataza mwingine kuuza kahawa ama kufanya hawking.”
Dylan Kilel wrote: “Watching Burundians and regional immigrants get targeted right now is painful. Kenya has always been a refuge and a place of trade. We must not allow policies or scapegoating to push us down the South African path of xenophobia.”