Kenya Orders Migrant Registration After Mob Attacks

Kenya has called on all undocumented immigrants to register with the authorities after a wave of xenophobic attacks targeting East African nationals swept the country.

The violence broke out after President William Ruto ordered a crackdown last week on foreigners he accused of running small-scale businesses and taking unskilled jobs he said should be reserved for Kenyans. The government subsequently clarified that East African nationals remain welcome — provided they carry valid documents.

Government spokesman Charles Owino said Monday that Kenya wants all undocumented East African Community nationals and Burundian citizens in particular — to immediately report to their high commissions or embassies for formal identity registration. "The government of Kenya maintains a policy of absolute zero tolerance toward any form of harassment, intimidation, or xenophobia," he added.

The reality on the streets has told a different story. Mobs have attacked small businesses linked to Burundian, Rwandan and Ugandan nationals in Nairobi, according to risk advisory firm Armistice Security Consult International, while residents of the western city of Nakuru have staged protests against foreigners they accuse of taking jobs in salons and barber shops and running competing roadside stalls.

Hundreds of Burundians fleeing the violence have crowded into their embassy in Nairobi, where officials are processing travel documents for those who want to return home, Ambassador Evelyne Habonimana said. Addressing the crowd outside the embassy, Kenya's Foreign Affairs Principal Secretary Korir Sing'oei acknowledged that "some of you have been harmed by your neighbors," urging registration so that "you're protected."

The episode is a blot on Ruto's pan-African credentials. The president had previously scrapped visa requirements for all African nationals, and Kenya's $141 billion economy the region's magnet for workers, traders and refugees has long been seen as a safe haven in a turbulent neighborhood. The attacks now risk placing Kenya alongside South Africa, where migrants have been intermittently targeted, in the category of countries unwelcoming to foreigners.