By Kiwala Caroline Tahir | Assistant Resident District Commissioner, Iganga | September 8, 2026
Kenyan President William Ruto’s directive against small-scale businesses operated by foreigners has sent a wave of uncertainty through East Africa.
Although Kenya’s Ministry of Trade subsequently clarified that enforcement would target foreigners operating without valid work permits, the announcement has frightened many migrants who depend on informal businesses for survival.
The directive followed President Ruto’s meeting with Kenyan micro, small and medium-sized traders who had raised concerns about competition, taxation and the growing involvement of foreigners in businesses traditionally dominated by citizens.
The Kenyan Government later announced a temporary registration window for undocumented East Africans and promised protection from harassment, intimidation and xenophobia.
Nevertheless, the anxiety created by the directive cannot be ignored.
Hundreds of Burundian nationals reportedly gathered at their embassy in Nairobi seeking travel documents. Some Ugandan traders also began returning through the Busia border because they were uncertain about their safety and the future of their businesses.
For Ugandans operating in Nairobi, Mombasa, Busia, Malaba and other Kenyan towns, the episode presents two important questions.
First, are the rights of East African citizens to move, work and establish businesses across the region being sufficiently protected?
Second, what lessons should Uganda learn about creating attractive and sustainable business opportunities at home?
Ugandan traders face uncertainty
Many Ugandans doing business in Kenya are not wealthy foreign investors commanding enormous amounts of capital.
They are ordinary men and women operating small shops, restaurants, salons, boutiques, produce stalls and transport-related businesses.
Some sell second-hand clothes in Gikomba. Others trade in matoke, maize, fish, cereals, shoes and telephone accessories. Several Ugandans also operate small businesses around Eastleigh, Kawangware and the Busia-Malaba border corridor.
Their businesses support families, educate children and provide markets for agricultural produce originating from Uganda.
A trader may have spent several years building relationships with customers, suppliers and landlords. An abrupt change in enforcement can therefore threaten not only that individual’s daily income but an entire chain of dependants.
Perishable commodities face an even greater risk. Food cannot remain in storage indefinitely while traders wait for clarification from authorities.
Fear alone can force businesses to close temporarily, disrupt supply chains and cause significant losses—even before formal enforcement begins.
Documentation must be clarified
The Kenyan Government has stated that the directive concerns foreign traders operating without valid work permits.
That distinction is important.
The public debate must therefore avoid creating the impression that every foreigner operating a small business in Kenya is automatically breaking the law.
East African Community citizens enjoy important regional rights, including the movement of persons, workers, services and capital. The regional framework also promotes the rights of residence and establishment, subject to the laws and regulations of partner states.
However, confusion frequently arises over the documents required for small-scale traders. Some East Africans enter neighbouring countries using national identity cards, interstate passes or other regional travel documents but may not possess the permits required for particular employment or business activities.
Governments must provide clear, accessible and consistent information about these requirements.
A vague or hurried enforcement process creates opportunities for extortion, selective enforcement and harassment. A genuine effort to enforce immigration and business laws must therefore be transparent, orderly and respectful of human dignity.
Police officers, local authorities and members of the public must not use the directive as an excuse to threaten, humiliate or dispossess foreign nationals.
No country should allow xenophobia to grow under the cover of enforcing business regulations.
A test for East African integration
The controversy also presents a serious test for the East African Community.
Regional integration must be felt in the daily lives of ordinary citizens. It cannot remain limited to presidential summits, signed protocols and speeches at international conferences.
If a Ugandan cannot clearly understand the requirements for operating a lawful business in Kenya—and a Kenyan faces similar uncertainty in Uganda—then the regional integration project remains incomplete.
Partner states have legitimate responsibilities to protect local employment and regulate businesses within their territories. However, those measures should be implemented consistently with national laws and regional obligations.
The EAC Secretariat and the governments concerned should urgently clarify the position of small-scale traders from partner states.
Uganda should also establish the number of its citizens affected, provide them with accurate legal guidance and engage Kenyan authorities through the appropriate diplomatic channels.
The answer should not be retaliation.
Uganda hosts Kenyan traders, professionals and investors. Kenya also remains one of Uganda’s most important trading partners and provides a vital transit route to the sea.
A retaliatory crackdown would harm innocent people, weaken regional trade and replace economic cooperation with suspicion.
The better response is diplomatic engagement, lawful regularisation and stronger regional systems for protecting compliant traders.
The difficult lesson: Home remains home
As we defend the rights of Ugandans to trade lawfully across East Africa, we must also confront an uncomfortable question: why are so many of our citizens compelled to seek fragile livelihoods elsewhere?
Many traders left Iganga, Jinja, Busia, Mbale and other districts because they believed Nairobi offered larger markets and better opportunities.
There is nothing wrong with pursuing opportunities across borders. Trade has never been confined by district or national boundaries, and Uganda benefits from citizens who build commercial networks abroad.
However, the current uncertainty reminds us of a basic truth: business established in another country will always remain exposed to that country’s political decisions, immigration rules and economic pressures.
No matter how welcoming a foreign market may appear, conditions can change.
This is why Ugandans should avoid placing all their capital, stock and expectations in one foreign market.
A lion may travel through many forests, but its strongest roar should be built from home.
Can we create the same opportunities in Uganda?
The lesson from Kenya should not be that Ugandans must abandon cross-border trade. It should be that Uganda must become a more attractive place in which to start, formalise and expand a business.
Government programmes such as the Parish Development Model, Emyooga, industrial parks, agricultural financing and youth-skilling initiatives were created to stimulate production and household incomes.
Their success, however, should not be measured merely by the amount of money disbursed.
We must ask whether beneficiaries are building sustainable enterprises, producing marketable goods, keeping proper records, creating jobs and increasing household incomes.
A Ugandan considering investing limited capital in an informal business abroad should first examine the opportunities available within the country.
Could that money establish a produce-collection centre in Nakalama or Busesa?
Could it support a poultry enterprise, a grain store, a welding workshop, a salon, a tailoring business or a small food-processing venture?
Could several young people combine their capital, register a cooperative and acquire equipment that none of them could afford individually?
These are questions our commercial officers, production departments, community development officers and local leaders should help citizens answer.
Telling young people to “start a business” is not enough. They require practical guidance on enterprise selection, registration, financial management, production standards, packaging and access to markets.
From raw produce to Ugandan brands
Uganda must also rethink the way it participates in regional trade.
We should not be satisfied with exporting raw matoke, maize, fish, coffee and other commodities while importing processed and attractively packaged products at a higher price.
Value addition creates jobs, extends the shelf life of agricultural products and allows producers to earn more from the same output.
A trader from Iganga should be supported to mill, package and brand agricultural products before entering regional markets.
Instead of exporting only raw produce, we should build recognisable Ugandan brands capable of competing on supermarket shelves in Nairobi, Kigali, Dar es Salaam and beyond.
Formal exports also provide greater legal protection than informal roadside trade. Registered enterprises can obtain the required licences, use established border procedures, enter supply contracts and seek official assistance when disputes arise.
Our ambition should not be to withdraw from Kenya. It should be to enter Kenya and other markets from a position of greater strength.
Patriotism must create opportunity
Patriotism is more than singing the national anthem or displaying the national flag.
It includes producing at home, buying Ugandan goods, paying taxes, protecting public resources and building enterprises that employ fellow citizens.
It also requires the Government to create an environment in which businesses can survive.
Young entrepreneurs should not be frustrated by unnecessary licences, unofficial charges, unreliable electricity, poor roads or corruption.
If we ask Ugandans to invest at home, public institutions must make home worth investing in.
Government officials should provide information instead of creating bureaucratic obstacles. Financial programmes should reach genuine beneficiaries. Public infrastructure must support production and market access.
The private sector must also mentor emerging entrepreneurs, develop local supply chains and give Ugandan products space in shops and supermarkets.
Build at home, trade across the region
My message is not that Ugandans should stop trading in Kenya.
Ugandan traders who comply with Kenyan laws deserve to operate without harassment. Their rights should be defended through diplomacy, regional institutions and lawful processes.
Those lacking the required documentation should use the announced registration window and seek official guidance rather than depending on rumours.
At the same time, the current situation should awaken us to the need to build stronger businesses at home.
Before investing all your savings in an informal enterprise abroad, visit your district commercial officer. Consult the production department. Explore cooperative business models and understand the available government programmes.
Start small where necessary, but start with a plan.
Produce consistently. Keep records. Add value. Build a brand. Find reliable markets. Save and reinvest.
Our ultimate objective should be a Uganda whose young people can find opportunity at home while confidently competing across East Africa.
Let us build enterprises strong enough to cross borders without being entirely dependent on them.
Let us build Uganda into a country that attracts traders and investors from across the region—not one whose citizens are always forced to search for survival elsewhere.
For God and My Country, let us build at home first.
