Kenya has both the legal authority and responsibility to control who enters the country and who is permitted to work here.
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But that authority must be exercised through immigration and labour law and not roadside orders, threats, mob pressure or collective punishment.
A foreign national without lawful immigration status or the required work authorisation may face enforcement action, including removal where legally provided.
But removal is not a licence for arbitrary expulsion: it must be undertaken by the competent authorities and in accordance with the procedures and safeguards prescribed by law. That is enforcement.
Forcing people out of businesses or communities simply because they are foreigners is something different altogether.
This distinction matters. Immigration enforcement concerns an individual’s legal status and conduct; xenophobia targets people because of their nationality.
The debate also exposes a glaring contradiction. Kenya welcomes foreign capital into strategic investments such as Safaricom and Kenya Pipeline, yet becomes agitated when foreigners sell mandazi, run tea kiosks or take up low-paying jobs many Kenyans have abandoned.
If illegal foreign workers are the concern, enforcement must be consistent. The law should apply equally to Somali, Chinese, Ugandan, Tanzanian and other foreign nationals who violate it.
Enforce the law by all means. But enforce it against violations and not nationalities.
Quote of the Day: “War on the other hand is such a terrible thing, that no man, especially a Christian man, has the right to assume the responsibility of starting it. —Russian novelist Leo Tolstoy was born on September 9, 1828
