NAIROBI, Sept 7 (Reuters) – Hundreds of Burundians flocked to their country’s embassy in Kenya’s capital on Monday seeking travel documents to return to Burundi after Kenyan President William Ruto ordered a crackdown on small-scale traders from abroad.
Clutching suitcases and assorted possessions, crowds of mostly young men formed long queues outside the embassy in Nairobi.
“There are so many people who have come here and we don’t know when we will get any help. I am not going home by choice. I have been forced to go,” said Peter Nakumujango, 62.
Following a meeting with Kenyan traders who had been protesting against tax reforms, Ruto last week called on authorities to close down all small-scale businesses operated by foreign traders, starting on Monday.
Kenya’s trade ministry said the order applied to foreigners operating without work permits.
There were no signs of a crackdown in Nairobi on Monday, but some of the Burundians outside the embassy said they had received threats from neighbours since Ruto’s remarks.
There are about 16,000 Burundian refugees and asylum seekers in Kenya, according to the U.N. refugee agency. Many work in small-scale businesses in Nairobi, selling such items as coffee and used clothes.
Burundi’s ambassador to Kenya was not immediately available for comment.
“They should give us at least a week to plan and go back to Burundi or help us cross the border,” said Munezero Farnke, 18. “I have lived here for three years without even an ID and I was planning to go back next year.”
Ruto’s critics accused him of scapegoating foreigners for the country’s economic difficulties ahead of next year’s election, when he is due to stand for a second term.
“When a state runs out of answers for a collapsing economy, it invariably goes looking for an enemy,” activist Hanifa Adan wrote in the Daily Nation newspaper.
Last Thursday, Ruto ordered India’s Tata Chemicals to stop operations in Kenya, saying its presence had failed to benefit the country.
Tata Chemicals said it respected the authority of Kenya’s government and remained committed to constructive engagement.
(Reporting by Monica Mwangi and Edwin Okoth; Writing by Elias Biryabarema; Editing by Aaron Ross and Andrew Cawthorne)
