Kenyan President William Ruto’s directive targeting foreign-owned small businesses has caused anxiety among traders across East Africa, with Ugandan traders operating in Kenya among those likely to feel the impact most directly.
According to reports by NTV Kenya on September 4, 2026, civil society organisations have challenged the directive, describing it as unconstitutional and calling for formal clarification from the Kenyan government. The directive was reportedly issued on September 2 at State House in Nairobi following a meeting with Kenyan Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise (MSME) traders.
Although the measure has been presented largely as an effort to protect Kenyan hawkers and small businesses from competition, particularly from Chinese traders, its implementation could also affect Ugandan nationals who have built livelihoods in Kenya’s informal and small-business economy.
Ugandans operate businesses in places such as Gikomba, Eastleigh and Kawangware, as well as in towns along the Kenya-Uganda border.
Who is affected?
Ugandan traders in Kenya are not necessarily large investors. Many are ordinary men and women operating small businesses with modest capital, including:
- Mitumba traders in Gikomba Market;
- Foodstuff dealers dealing in matoke, maize, fish and other commodities;
- Salon, barbershop and boutique operators;
- Traders dealing in mobile phones and accessories; and
- Small businesses operating around the Busia and Malaba border areas.
Many of these traders operate within the framework of the East African Community (EAC) Common Market, which provides for the free movement of persons and labour, the right of establishment and other forms of economic integration among member states.
The question, therefore, is not simply whether Kenya has the right to regulate its domestic market. It is whether such regulation can be implemented in a manner that respects the rights and commitments arising from regional integration.
Four key concerns for Ugandan traders
1. Loss of livelihoods and stock
For a small trader, losing access to a business premises can mean losing everything.
Daily working capital ranging from KSh10,000 to KSh50,000 may represent years of savings or the combined resources of an entire family. For traders dealing in food and other perishables, prolonged uncertainty can also result in significant losses.
The fear of enforcement alone can discourage traders from opening their businesses, travelling to markets or restocking their goods.
2. Legal uncertainty
The situation has also created uncertainty over the legal basis and implementation of the directive.
If existing laws are being relied upon to regulate foreign traders, authorities need to clearly explain which categories of businesses and persons are affected, what permits are required and what procedures traders must follow to remain compliant.
Where there is uncertainty, there is a danger that ordinary traders may become vulnerable to harassment, extortion or arbitrary enforcement.
Clear rules, transparent enforcement and access to lawful remedies are therefore essential.
3. A challenge to East African integration
The development also raises broader questions about the future of East African integration.
The EAC Common Market was created to facilitate the movement of people, services, labour and capital across member states. Any measures that restrict these freedoms inevitably raise concerns about how far the region has progressed towards a genuinely integrated common market.
Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Somalia are not merely neighbouring countries. They are members of a regional community whose economies and people are increasingly interconnected.
When one country tightens access for citizens of another, the consequences can quickly spread beyond its borders.
Recent reports that some foreign nationals in Kenya have sought assistance from their embassies because of fears arising from the announcement should remind us that economic policy can easily acquire a human dimension.
4. The risk of diplomatic and economic retaliation
Uganda is also home to thousands of Kenyan traders and businesses. From Kikuubo and Nakawa to Busia and other commercial centres, Kenyan nationals participate in Uganda’s economy.
A prolonged crackdown on Ugandan traders in Kenya could therefore generate pressure for reciprocal measures in Uganda.
That would benefit neither country.
East Africa needs fewer trade barriers, not more. We need policies that protect local businesses while also respecting legitimate regional trade commitments.
Protecting Kenyan traders is a legitimate domestic concern. But it should be pursued within the law and in a manner consistent with Kenya’s regional obligations.
Food for thought: How about business at home?
There is, however, another lesson that Uganda should draw from this situation.
Our brothers and sisters who have built businesses in Gikomba, Eastleigh and other parts of Kenya may now be facing an uncomfortable reality: no matter how attractive a foreign market appears, home remains home.
Many Ugandans leave places such as Iganga, Mbale, Busia and Jinja in search of better economic opportunities in Nairobi and other cities.
There is nothing wrong with seeking opportunities beyond our borders. The EAC itself encourages such economic interaction.
But perhaps we should also ask ourselves a difficult question:
How about business at home?
A lion does not roar in another man’s forest. It roars at home, where its voice shakes the ground.
Kenya’s experience should therefore not only make us angry or afraid. It should make us think.
If every country is increasingly concerned about creating opportunities for its own citizens, what are we doing to ensure that Ugandans can build sustainable businesses without having to cross the border in search of survival?
Opportunities we should not overlook
Uganda has enormous economic opportunities that we sometimes overlook while pursuing opportunities elsewhere.
1. Industrialisation and local production
Government has invested in industrial parks and other initiatives intended to promote manufacturing and create jobs.
Instead of only travelling to foreign markets to sell goods, Ugandans should increasingly consider producing, processing and packaging those goods at home.
The real opportunity is not merely to sell products. It is to own the value chain.
2. PDM and Emyooga
Programmes such as the Parish Development Model (PDM) and Emyooga are intended to increase access to capital and strengthen household incomes and enterprise development.
A trader with capital equivalent to KSh50,000—roughly Shs1.4 million, depending on the prevailing exchange rate—could, for example, explore opportunities in produce aggregation, food processing, retail or other viable enterprises at home rather than putting all that capital into a business where immigration or trading regulations could change unexpectedly.
The important point is not that every Ugandan should abandon regional trade. It is that we should use available opportunities to build stronger enterprises at home.
3. Strengthening regional markets
Uganda has major commercial centres such as Kikuubo, Nakawa, Owino and Busia.
These markets provide enormous opportunities for Ugandan entrepreneurs.
We should be asking ourselves how to move from being small-scale traders to owners of businesses, warehouses, distribution networks and manufacturing enterprises.
We should aspire to become exporters, rather than remaining dependent on foreign markets for basic opportunities.
4. Value addition
Consider agricultural products such as matoke, maize, fish and coffee.
Instead of exporting them in raw form and capturing only a small part of their value, why can we not process, package, brand and market them from Uganda?
A product branded and packaged in Iganga, for example, can travel much further than a truckload of unprocessed produce.
Imagine building brands such as “Iganga Gold” and selling them across East Africa and beyond.
That is the kind of entrepreneurship Uganda needs.
Let us build at home while embracing regional trade
I am not arguing that Ugandans should stop trading in Kenya.
The EAC Common Market gives citizens of member states legitimate opportunities to participate in the regional economy, subject to applicable laws and regulations.
My argument is that we should not put all our eggs in a foreign basket.
A business that depends entirely on a foreign market can be exposed to changes in policy, political pressure or enforcement decisions over which the trader has little control.
We should therefore build strong businesses at home while taking advantage of regional and international markets.
The Kenya experience should be a wake-up call, particularly for our young people.
Before boarding that bus to Nairobi with Shs2 million, ask yourself: What can I build with this money in Uganda?
Visit your commercial officer. Seek guidance from your local government authorities. Form or join a cooperative. Explore legitimate financing opportunities. Understand the available government programmes. Start small, grow steadily and build an enterprise that can employ others.
We should not only dream of becoming traders in Nairobi. We should dream of building the businesses that attract Kenyans, Tanzanians, Congolese and others to Uganda.
Patriotism is not merely singing the national anthem. It is also building the economic foundations of the country we call home.
Let us build Uganda so that tomorrow, it is Kenyans and other East Africans coming to Uganda in search of business opportunities—not Ugandans standing at foreign embassy gates because a policy changed overnight.
For God and My Country, let us build at home first.
Caroline Kiwala Tahir
Assistant Resident District Commissioner
Iganga District
The post KIWALA CAROLINE TAHIR: Ruto Directive Should Prompt Uganda to Build Business at Home appeared first on Watchdog Uganda.