Nairobi, Kenya – The Network Against Human Trafficking and Smuggling of Migrants (NAHUSOM) has called on the Government of Kenya to suspend enforcement of the recent directive ordering foreign nationals operating small-scale businesses to close their operations.
In a statement released on Tuesday, the network said it had noted with concern the directive issued by President William Ruto on 3rd September 2026, which requires foreign nationals engaged in hawking, street vending, salons and small retail trade to shut down, with a 90-day window to regularise their status. The President also indicated that legislation will be fast-tracked to bar foreigners from certain categories of trade.
NAHUSOM said it recognises the legitimate concerns of local traders facing stiff competition in the informal economy and does not dispute the State’s authority to regulate business and protect citizens’ livelihoods.
However, the network warned that a blanket closure, if implemented without clear safeguards, risks pushing vulnerable populations – including refugees, asylum seekers and undocumented migrants – out of legitimate livelihoods and into informal, unregulated and unsafe alternatives.
Kenya currently hosts close to 857,000 registered refugees and asylum seekers, many of whom rely on small trade for survival under permits recognised in law.
NAHUSOM noted that loss of livelihood is a well-documented driver of exploitation, debt bondage and trafficking, including trafficking for forced criminality.
The lobby also raised concern over the protection of foreign nationals who have intermarried with Kenyans and built families, homes and businesses in the country over many years. It warned that a blanket enforcement exercise, if left to public confrontation or unauthorised vetting by individuals or local groups, could separate families, expose spouses and children to insecurity, and create fear and stigma in communities that have coexisted peacefully for decades.
According to NAHUSOM, such unauthorised vetting could be exploited by business competitors to target and intimidate rivals under the guise of enforcement, fuelling false accusations, harassment, extortion, violence and discrimination.
“Such an environment does not make Kenya safer; instead, it escalates the very vulnerabilities that traffickers, smugglers and organised criminal networks exploit,” the statement reads in part.
The network further anchored its concerns in Articles 10 and 47 of the Constitution of Kenya, which require public action to uphold constitutional values and ensure administrative action is lawful, reasonable and procedurally fair.
NAHUSOM also cited Kenya’s obligations under the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, the Refugees Act, and the East African Community Protocol on free movement of persons, as well as its commitments as a Champion country of the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (GCM).
At the continental level, the network noted that while Kenya signed the African Union Free Movement Protocol in 2018 and is yet to ratify it, abrupt blanket closures undermine the spirit of integration. It warned the move could trigger retaliatory trade barriers against Kenyan traders across East Africa and push registered migrants into shadow markets.
NAHUSOM is now calling for an immediate suspension of enforcement to allow for structured consultations, comprehensive rights-impact assessments and clear administrative guidelines.
The organisation reiterated its commitment to work with the Government in balancing the protection of Kenyan traders’ livelihoods with the country’s obligations to migrants and refugees and its efforts to prevent human trafficking in all its forms.
