President William Ruto has ordered all foreign nationals operating small retail businesses and hawking in Kenya to close down by Monday, 7 September 2026, citing high unemployment and the need to protect local livelihoods.
Ruto announced this during a meeting with Micro, Small and medium enterprise traders at State House in Nairobi. He said the informal retail sector must be reserved for Kenyan citizens, linking the directive directly to the country’s unemployment crisis.
“With so many Kenyans struggling to find formal employment, small kiosks, hawking and petty retail are the only remaining lifelines for local families. We cannot allow foreign nationals to occupy these low-barrier entry points and rob citizens of essential economic survival mechanisms,” Ruto said.
