Former Chief Justice David Maraga has criticised the government’s crackdown on immigrant small-scale traders, arguing that the enforcement is based on a presidential directive rather than an enacted law.
Maraga said the government began enforcing the crackdown on Monday, September 7, following President William Ruto’s announcement that hawking and small-scale retail businesses would be reserved for Kenyans.
He noted that Ruto had, in the same announcement, directed Parliament to expedite the Local Content Bill, 2025, which he said had not been passed into law.
“A directive read at State House does not amend the Constitution, and it does not release Kenya from the East African Community (EAC) Common Market Protocol,” Maraga said.
He argued that the regional protocol guarantees the free movement of persons, labour and goods among EAC member states.
“We cannot profess to lead a regional Jumuiya while simultaneously subverting its foundational frameworks,” he said, adding that Kenya could not credibly champion Pan-African initiatives while undertaking measures he described as undermining the principles of Pan-Africanism.
Maraga acknowledged the economic difficulties facing Kenyan traders but rejected the argument that foreign traders were responsible for the struggles of local small businesses.
“Kenyan traders are drowning, and that pain is real. But close every foreign-run stall tomorrow and the price of maize does not move by one shilling,” he said.
He attributed the difficulties facing small businesses to a combination of government and structural economic problems, including pending government bills, rising county licence fees, expensive credit and what he described as disproportionate enforcement by the Kenya Revenue Authority.
Maraga further argued that foreign workers were not responsible for the loss of jobs among Kenyans, citing government figures showing that foreign nationals accounted for about 1.6 per cent of the workforce in foreign-invested enterprises in 2024.
“This was never where the jobs went. A government that cannot give you a market will always offer you an enemy to blame,” he said, describing the crackdown as “scapegoat policy.”
The former Chief Justice also criticised the government’s approach to labour migration, accusing it of exporting young Kenyans as low-wage workers abroad while criminalising other Africans seeking livelihoods in Kenya.
He linked the crackdown to what he described as the failure of Ruto’s Bottom-Up economic agenda, accusing the administration of presiding over high youth unemployment, abductions and loss of life.
Maraga also criticised the government’s borrowing, saying Kenya had accumulated about Sh5 trillion in additional debt over four years without commensurate results.
He accused the administration of diverting public attention from corruption and wastage by targeting immigrant traders.
“The primary catalyst for the extreme economic misery witnessed on Kenyan streets today sits in the highest office of the Executive,” he said.
Maraga further alleged that more than Sh1 trillion is lost annually through corruption and wastage, citing Sh33 billion in expenditure by President Ruto that he claimed was above the budgetary allocation for State House.
He warned that government-sponsored xenophobic rhetoric could eventually be turned against Kenyans along ethnic, religious or other identity lines.
“Kenyans will not fall for this cheap diversionary and divisive tactics,” Maraga said.
He pledged that, under his leadership, Kenya would respect its legal and regional obligations and ensure accountability in the use of public resources.
“We must be a country confident in our ability to solve our problems internally while looking Africaward for the friends we need in forging global strength,” he said.
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