Anti-Burundian xenophobia narratives in Kenya

The crisis traces back to a long-standing undertone of discontent in Kenya about foreign nationals, especially other East Africans, competing for jobs.

On 28 August 2026, small-scale traders protested in Nairobi’s CBD (Archives, Kamukunji, Gikomba, Nyamakima) against a rise in KRA’s customs valuation benchmark for a 40-foot container of consolidated cargo, from KSh 2.5 million to KSh 3.2 million. Police used tear gas. Press coverage described the grievance as taxation and import valuation; none cited foreign traders or Burundians. President Ruto later revised the benchmark down to KSh 2 million.

On 2 September, at a meeting with MSME traders at State House, the President ordered foreign-owned small businesses without permits to close, with a 7 September deadline. The directive did not name Burundians or any nationality: he cited China as his example (“someone from China or elsewhere”) and said “The investor confidence we have built is for investors to come to Kenya, not hawkers and traders.” He told traders “From next week, all traders doing those small businesses should close them”, to a standing ovation, and directed Trade CS Lee Kinyanjui and Majority Leader Kimani Ichung’wah to fast-track legislation reserving certain businesses for Kenyan citizens. Traders’ umbrella bodies endorsed the directive.

An older TikTok skit, dated as early as March 2025 and viewed 2.7 million times, was captioned “Burundians in Kenya be like”. It portrays Kenyans buying tea from Burundian vendors and not paying. The comment section includes what read as first-person accounts of the same behaviour.

An MP names Burundians

On 18 June 2026, at what appears to be an ODM gathering, Dagoretti North MP Beatrice Elachi accused employers of hiring Burundian construction workers over Kenyans because they were cheaper: “You cannot come to Kenya and take jobs at 400 shillings a day when Kenyans are paid 700 shillings and above.” She extended the complaint to Burundians selling coffee and groundnuts, and said she would push the issue in Parliament.

This was the first instance found of a politician naming Burundians in connection with legislation that had been moving through Parliament since October 2025: the Local Content Bill (sponsored by Laikipia Woman Rep Jane Kagiri) and the Micro and Small Enterprises (Amendment) Bill (sponsored by Manyatta MP Gitonga Mukunji), the same legislation the President would later cite.

A video posted on 19 July 2026 by a TikTok creator was viewed more than 2.2 million times. It showed a Kenyan man publicly berating a Burundian coffee and mandazi vendor in Nairobi, accusing him of taking jobs and demanding his goods without paying.

The press treated it as a real incident, the first major public flashpoint, and Burundi’s ambassador Fred Ngoga responded on X, distancing the incident from majority Kenyan sentiment.

On 27 July the creator posted a follow-up revealing that the original was staged. That did not put the matter to rest: the video resurfaced after the President’s statements, and on 14 September the creators posted a video of the same characters, with the Kenyan man apologising to the Burundian man, captioned “Burundians are our brothers and sisters”.

Trade CS Lee Kinyanjui was the first official to issue a public clarification, on 6 September: visa-free entry does not amount to a work or business permit.

Government Spokesperson Charles Owino held a press briefing on 7 September, the deadline day, explicitly rejecting the xenophobia framing and announcing a documentation and registration window. The hashtag #ThisIsNotXenophobia circulated in connection with some of the government-aligned pushback.

Strategic adviser Fred Okango told People Daily: “We must not play politics with these issues, that the president is promoting xenophobia, and that’s what I see our critics are saying. He is not.” On 10 September, MP Beatrice Elachi backed the crackdown on local television: “My request is simple: every person living in this country should work the way a Kenyan works.”

Octopizzo and Kidum joined similar calls, and hashtags rejecting Afrophobia and asserting “we are not xenophobic” circulated widely. The East Africa Law Society affirmed Kenya’s right to regulate economic activity while stressing that this must be done within its constitutional and treaty obligations.

Solidarity also took the form of direct intervention. On 8 September in Juja, Kenyans stopped a man from attacking Burundian vendors. Two independent accounts on X confirm it; one read: “Kenyans stood with Burundians and stopped one man from attacking them. He came for their mandazi. Juja chose humanity.”