Opposition Chief Whip Paul Mwiru has welcomed Kenya’s move to restrict foreign nationals from engaging in small-scale businesses, saying Ugandans operating such businesses in the neighbouring country should consider returning home and contributing to Uganda’s development.
Mwiru said Uganda should not necessarily oppose Kenya’s efforts to reserve certain economic activities for its citizens, arguing instead that the government should create conditions that enable Ugandans to find opportunities and build businesses at home.
His comments come amid uncertainty among foreign traders in Kenya following President William Ruto’s September 2 directive ordering authorities to shut down small businesses operated by foreign nationals, particularly in areas such as hawking and small-scale retail.
Ruto said “such businesses should be reserved for Kenyans,” while maintaining that Kenya remains open to foreign investment in ventures requiring greater capital. The directive initially set September 7 as the date for enforcement.
However, the Kenyan government has since softened the immediate implementation of the directive, announcing a 90-day window for foreign nationals operating businesses to regularise their immigration status, work permits, business registration and licensing.
State House spokesperson Hussein Mohamed said the exercise was intended to facilitate compliance and warned Kenyans against harassing, threatening or intimidating foreign nationals or interfering with their businesses.
Despite the clarification, the initial directive caused anxiety among foreign traders, with reports of some Ugandans and other East Africans leaving Kenya.
Ugandan traders were among foreign nationals who left Kenya amid fears and uncertainty following the directive, with some reportedly travelling back through the Busia border.
It is against this background that Mwiru says Uganda should view the situation as an opportunity to bring its citizens back and create an environment in which they can put their skills and capital to work locally.
“Please come back home and make our country better,” Mwiru said in an interview with the Nile Post.
Mwiru criticised Ugandans who, he said, have made it a habit of leaving the country to seek economic opportunities elsewhere, saying the time had come for them to return and engage in activities that would improve livelihoods and working conditions in Uganda.
“Because things have become plausible that when the governance issues collapse here, the human rights situation collapses in the country, the people run to the neighboring countries instead of staying around and make a contribution. So personally I would not have a problem with what Kenya is doing. I would encourage Ugandans to come back and work towards building our country,” he said.
The Opposition Chief Whip argued that countries have a legitimate interest in protecting economic opportunities for their citizens, particularly in sectors requiring relatively little capital.
Mwiru said he had encountered foreign nationals, including Chinese and Indians, operating businesses in Uganda, which he argued raised questions about whether the country’s investment framework is adequately protecting employment opportunities for Ugandans.
“What the Kenyans are trying to do is to decongest trade from other non-Kenyans, that is purely citizens of Kenyans,” he said.
Mwiru also questioned whether Uganda’s investment policies are sufficiently focused on the number of jobs created by investors.
He called for a system in which investors are assessed not only on the capital they bring into the country, but also on the employment opportunities they create for Ugandans.
“So that we come to zero to account: how many jobs are you creating annually, every financial year, after every period of time?”
EAC Integration Dilemma
Mwiru’s position, however, comes against the backdrop of the East African Community’s regional integration agenda, which is built around reducing restrictions on the movement of people, labour, goods, services and capital.
The EAC Common Market Protocol provides for the free movement of persons and workers among Partner States, as well as the right of establishment and residence.
The EAC says citizens of Partner States should not be discriminated against on the basis of nationality, subject to limitations provided for under the Protocol and national laws.
The EAC also recognises the right of self-employed citizens of one Partner State to establish themselves and pursue economic activities in another Partner State in accordance with the host country’s laws.
This has raised questions about how Kenya’s new restrictions will fit within the region’s integration commitments.
Mwiru acknowledged the contradiction but argued that the EAC’s integration ambitions remain difficult to realise when individual Partner States continue to prioritise domestic economic interests.
“The community is on paper,” he said.
He pointed to the wider debate over the treatment of Africans living and working outside their countries, including concerns about xenophobia and restrictions on foreign nationals.
Mwiru recalled Uganda’s historical role in the struggle against apartheid in South Africa, arguing that the principle of Pan-Africanism should mean that African countries protect one another’s citizens.
However, he said the current developments demonstrate the gap between the ideals of regional and continental integration and what individual governments do when faced with domestic economic pressure.
“When we talk about Pan-Africanism, it will mean that actually when you attack Ugandans, you have attacked the foundation of Pan-Africanism,” Mwiru said.
Kenya Says Crackdown Is About Compliance
Kenya’s government has sought to clarify that the measures should not be interpreted as a blanket expulsion of foreign nationals.
Kenya’s Trade Cabinet Secretary Lee Kinyanjui said visa-free entry into Kenya does not automatically grant foreigners the right to work, trade or operate businesses.
He said foreigners engaged in employment, retail or other commercial activities must comply with immigration, work-permit and other regulatory requirements.
The government has also said the 90-day regularisation exercise will give affected foreigners an opportunity to bring their immigration and business status into compliance.
The State House has stressed that legitimate concerns about economic opportunities cannot be used to justify discrimination, harassment or violence against foreigners. It has also reaffirmed Kenya’s commitment to regional integration and the movement of people, labour, services and capital within the applicable legal framework.
The developments have nonetheless exposed a tension within the EAC Common Market: while the regional bloc seeks greater economic integration, Partner States retain national laws and administrative systems governing who can work, establish businesses and engage in particular economic activities.
The EAC itself acknowledges that free movement of workers is subject to national laws and certain limitations, including those relating to public policy, public security and public health.
Mwiru Calls for Jobs at Home
For Mwiru, the debate should ultimately force Uganda to examine why its citizens are increasingly looking outside the country for economic opportunities.
He argued that rather than focusing solely on defending Ugandans working abroad, the government should improve the domestic business environment so that returning Ugandans can invest their skills and resources in the country.
Mwiru said the government’s investment policy should therefore be linked more directly to employment creation, with investors expected to demonstrate the number of jobs their businesses generate.
His comments come as Kenya attempts to balance the protection of opportunities for its citizens with its obligations under the EAC Common Market and its wider commitment to foreign investment.
For Uganda, the developments have also renewed questions about whether the country’s own investment policies sufficiently distinguish between investments that create significant employment and small-scale activities that directly compete with local entrepreneurs.
As Kenya works through its 90-day regularisation process, the wider test will be whether the new measures remain focused on compliance and local economic empowerment, or develop into broader restrictions on East Africans seeking livelihoods within the region.
For Mwiru, however, the immediate lesson is clear: Uganda should make the country attractive enough for its citizens to return, invest and create jobs rather than depend on opportunities in neighbouring states.
“We have to take [the] direction so that we accommodate our people, so people don’t have to go and actually be refugees or asylum seekers in foreign countries,” he said.
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