Kenya offers amnesty for migrants after Burundians rush to leave

By AFP and Reuters. Published On 8 Sep 20268 Sep 2026.

Key points

• Regarding 16, 000 Burundian migrants and refugees live in the country, according to the United Nations, numerous of them operating small street businesses.
• Afterwards on Monday, a spokesman for Ruto's administration called on undocumented nationals from other East African countries, and specifically from Burundi, to formally register at their embassies.
• Kenyan President William Ruto's administration last week ordered authorities to close small businesses run by foreigners, starting on Monday.
• Kenya has long drawn migrants from the East African Community, an intergovernmental organisation that allows freedom of movement for citizens of its eight member states, including Burundi.
• Critics of President Ruto have accused him of blaming foreigners for ⁠Kenya's economic difficulties before an election next year.

Kenya has offered a temporary amnesty to undocumented East African migrants after hundreds of Burundians rushed to their country's embassy in Nairobi seeking travel documents to return home.

Notably, the order, which Kenya's Ministry of Trade remarked applied to foreigners operating without work permits, led to chaos outside Burundi's embassy on Monday, with some Burundians saying they had been threatened by neighbours since Ruto's remarks.

On Monday, despite no signs of a crackdown, crowds queued outside Burundi's embassy from the morning to await papers that would allow them to travel home.

Some documented harassment and violence after Ruto's directive. Jean-Baptiste Ndayizeye, a pastor, informed the AFP news agency that his neighbours had been attacked and robbed. "They've expelled us like animals, " he remarked.

"For the duration of this designated registration period, all individuals undergoing registration will be presumed legally present in the Republic of Kenya, " their statement remarked.

"This window is designed to bring our brothers and sisters out of the shadows, ensuring they can access health, banking, and legal protections without fear."

Meanwhile, the administration additionally issued a directive to security agencies and local authorities that foreign nationals were not to be "subjected to arbitrary harassment or discrimination".

"Any elements seeking to exploit recent directives to fuel xenophobic sentiment or mistreat our neighbours will face the full force of the law, " it read.

After the reports of harassment, Kenya's junior foreign minister Korir Sing'Oei visited the embassy, apologised to Burundians and assured them police would protect areas where violence had been noted.

"For so plenty of years, you have lived in Kenya together with the Kenyan nationals. You have stayed in peace as neighbours, " he remarked, promising to assist Burundians obtain papers or return home voluntarily.

Taken together, the developments around kenya offers amnesty for migrants after Burundians rush to leave point to a situation that is still moving, and the coming days should bring more clarity.