Kenyans feel the gap left by departing Burundian traders and workers

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In estates and street corners across Nairobi, a quieter, less-discussed consequence of President  William Ruto's directive on undocumented foreign traders is playing out in daily disruptions for Kenyans who have suddenly lost access to service providers they had relied on for years.

Stacey Koga, a Nairobi resident, is one of them. Her family had depended on a Burundian boda boda rider since 2024 not just for the odd trip, but as a fixture of their daily routine. "He was a boda boda rider, our family has relied on him since 2024. He runs errands for us and does drop-offs and pick-ups. Take my niece to school too," Koga said.

His sudden absence has forced real disruptions into her routine. "His absence has affected me because I relied on him to pick me up in the morning and drop me off at the bus stop, but I was late yesterday because he's no longer available. Also, my sister had to find an alternative for getting my niece to school, which was abrupt and unplanned, therefore more money," Koga said.

At Gikomba market, traders have spoken about the disappearance of Burundian women who washed shoes for stallholders, a small service that had become part of the market’s daily rhythm. Some Kenyan workers have begun filling the positions previously occupied by Burundian cleaners and shoe-washers. But the transition has not necessarily been seamless.

One social media post mourning their departure said the women “will never do it again.” Another person responding to the post wrote: “So sad that these Burundi ladies who have been washing shoes in Gikomba market for us will never do it again.”

In Nairobi’s barbershops, salons and pedicure stalls, the disruption has been even more personal for some customers. One Nairobi resident wrote of a Burundian barber who had served him since 2021,

“My Burundian barber who has been with me since 2021 left the country. Beyond heartbroken.” Another simply wrote, “Just realised my Burundian barber has left... this is not the Africa we wanted.”

The effects stretch beyond personal services, with construction workers and commuters also noticing the disappearance of street vendors selling tea, coffee, mandazi and roasted groundnuts around construction sites, matatu stages and office areas.

James Wafula, a construction worker, said he and his colleagues had come to depend on some of these vendors during cold night shifts. Now, some of the spots where familiar flasks and buckets once stood are simply empty

For the suppliers who supplied flour, sugar and cooking oil to Burundian hawkers, they have lost regular sales from relationships that had developed over years. In some cases, individual suppliers say the losses amount to between Sh1,000 and Sh2,000 a day.

For the foreign nationals caught up in the crackdown, however, the consequences have been far more serious. Joseph Eric, a Congolese refugee registered with UNHCR, says his family came to Kenya seeking safety after fleeing violence in South Kivu.

“We did not come here to do business or to do any other thing, it was because of safety and resettlement,” Eric said.

Like many urban refugees, however, his family had to find ways to earn a living. He says the uncertainty following the government’s directive exposed refugees and other foreign nationals to harassment, despite differences in their legal status.

“Goons cannot even recognise that you are a refugee. What they are looking at is what you have. They come with the purpose of looting and harassing you because the President has said so, all foreigners but the President wasn’t specific about which category of foreigners, because among foreigners we have refugees, we have visitors, we have travellers, we have students,” he said.

Eric says his family was forced from its home and lost property in his small electronics shop. His four-and-a-half-year-old daughter, despite having her school fees paid for the term, is no longer attending school. “It’s just unspeakable,” he said.

The government has insisted the directive was never intended to authorise attacks or harassment of foreigners. Government Spokesperson Charles Owino said the measures were intended to protect vulnerable sectors of the domestic economy while ensuring foreigners in Kenya are properly documented. He said the government was establishing a formal documentation and registration window for undocumented foreign nationals.

State House has also warned that xenophobic attacks and vigilantism will not be tolerated, while maintaining that foreign nationals who are lawfully resident, employed or doing business in Kenya remain protected. They have also been given a 90-day window to register and get their papers to legally live in Kenya.

For many foreign workers and traders, the sudden enforcement created uncertainty over their right to remain and work. And for Kenyans, the policy has produced a third consequence: the quiet disappearance of people who had become part of everyday life.