Kenya still fails in visa openness despite Ruto reforms, AU says

Despite recent reforms by President William Ruto’s administration, including electronic travel authorisation, Kenya remains one of the least accessible countries to fellow Africans, the African Union has disclosed.

According to the 2024 Africa Visa Openness Index (Avoi), Kenya ranks 46th out of 54 countries — scoring just 0.113 on a scale in which 1 represents full visa openness.

This places Kenya ahead of only nine other countries, most of which are either fragile states or conflict-affected nations, including South Sudan, Libya, and Western Sahara.

The report released this month evaluates visa requirements to assess how easily African citizens can travel across the continent for business, tourism, and events.

It factors in whether citizens from other African nations need a visa in advance, can obtain one on arrival, or are allowed entry visa-free.

West African countries continued to lead the continent in openness as ease of travel in the continent, with Benin, Seychelles, The Gambia, Rwanda, Ghana, and Nigeria ranking in the top six.

These nations offer visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to most African travellers. Regionally, Kenya trails behind several of its East African neighbours. Rwanda ranks fourth overall, Tanzania 20th with a score of 0.706, and Uganda 26th, with a score of 0.396.

Even Ethiopia, Burundi and Somalia rank higher than Kenya. Kenya, however, may see its ranking improve in future reports. The country recently announced a waiver of visa requirements for African nationals attending this year’s African Nations Championship (CHAN) tournaments in Nairobi.

The move is aligned with the African Union’s broader agenda for integration and mobility. The Avoi index launched in 2016, is a barometer of Africa’s progress toward intra-continental travel freedom.

It also tracks year-over-year changes and provides analysis across the eight Regional Economic Communities (Recs) recognised by the African Union. Data for the 2024 report was collected between July and August, and information was primarily sourced from the International Air Transport Association (Iata).

Each country’s score is calculated based on its visa policy towards every other African nation. A score of 1 indicates full openness, while a score closer to 0 reflects restrictive policies.

Kenya’s low score highlights the gap between government ambitions on paper and policy realities on the ground.