National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetang’ula has defended President William Ruto’s directive requiring foreign nationals doing business or engaging in informal work in Kenya to regularise their operations, saying the move is aimed at enforcing existing laws and protecting opportunities for Kenyans.
Wetang’ula said Kenya remained open to investors and visitors from across Africa but insisted that foreigners operating businesses in the country must comply with immigration, work permit and business licensing requirements.
Speaking during a boda boda empowerment programme in Endebess, Trans Nzoia County, on Thursday, September 11, 2026, the Speaker rejected claims that Ruto’s directive was targeting Africans or seeking to close Kenya’s borders.
He said foreigners entering Kenya should be properly registered so that authorities can establish their identity and purpose of entry.
“What the President wants, and all of us want, is that when you leave Kenya for Uganda, you must register yourself with the authorities so that they know a visitor has entered our territory, not to bar you in any way,” Wetang’ula said.
The Speaker said the same principle should apply to citizens of East African Community (EAC) member states visiting Kenya, arguing that registration was necessary for proper immigration management and national security.
However, Wetang’ula drew a distinction between genuine foreign investment and small-scale trading, questioning why some foreigners enter Kenya under the guise of being investors only to engage in petty businesses.
“However, the people we don’t want to hear about are those who come to Kenya as investors but you get them selling maize in a local market. Is that investment really?” he posed.
Mugabe backs Ruto
Likuyani MP Innocent Mugabe also defended the President, accusing the opposition of deliberately misinterpreting Ruto’s remarks.
Mugabe said the directive was specifically targeting foreigners who engage in casual work or operate small businesses without the required licences and permits.
“Just recently the President announced that foreigners doing menial jobs or running small businesses without licences should regularise themselves with the authorities. The opposition were the first people to oppose the move, but we know President Ruto did not mean any harm in his utterances,” Mugabe said.
The MP said authorities should intensify surveillance of Kenya’s entry points, including unofficial routes, to ensure that foreigners entering the country are properly documented.
“We want to know all those residents of the EAC coming to Kenya. We don’t want some of them using panya routes to enter the country,” he said.
The remarks come amid growing debate over the role of foreign nationals in Kenya’s informal economy, particularly small-scale trade, casual employment and other businesses that local entrepreneurs say have increasingly attracted foreign competition.
The Government has maintained that its position is not a blanket ban on foreigners doing business in Kenya, but a requirement that those operating in the country comply with immigration and business regulations.
Wetang’ula said Kenya should continue welcoming legitimate investors while ensuring that foreign-owned enterprises do not operate outside the law or unfairly compete with local businesses.
Wetang’ula campaigns for Ruto in 2027
The Speaker also used the Endebess event to rally residents behind President Ruto’s re-election bid ahead of the 2027 General Election.
Wetang’ula pointed to reduced fertiliser prices, infrastructure development, markets and the recruitment of teachers as some of the Kenya Kwanza administration’s achievements.
He cited the reduction of the price of a 50-kilogramme bag of fertiliser from about Sh7,500 to Sh2,500, as well as infrastructure projects including the dualling of the Rironi-Malaba road corridor.
He urged voters to back the administration for continuity, arguing that a second term would allow the Government to consolidate programmes in agriculture, infrastructure, education and enterprise development.
The Speaker further challenged opposition leaders to move beyond criticism of the Government and present clear policy alternatives to voters ahead of the 2027 elections.
