President William Ruto assenting to four Bills into law on September 8, 2026, in State House, Nairobi.
President William Ruto has directed that the Local Content Bill, 2025, currently before Parliament, be expanded to create a framework governing participation in small-scale trade and enterprise.
The latest follows complaints from Kenyan traders over the growing presence of foreign nationals in the informal sector.
In a statement issued Tuesday, State House Spokesperson Hussein Mohamed said the directive followed an engagement last week during which the president received representations from traders concerned about the impact of foreign participation in small businesses on Kenyans whose livelihoods depend on such activities.
Ruto reaffirmed the government's responsibility to protect and expand economic opportunities for Kenyan citizens, particularly within the micro and small enterprise sector that sustains millions of households.
He also affirmed the government's duty to safeguard the rights of foreign nationals lawfully resident, employed, investing or doing business in the country.
The expanded Bill, according to the statement, will identify categories of economic activity that may be reserved for Kenyan citizens while providing legal certainty and protection for foreign nationals lawfully entitled to work, invest and conduct business in Kenya.
The government said its commitment to the East African Community, regional integration and continental unity remains firm, and that it will continue facilitating the movement of people, labour, services and capital in line with applicable legal frameworks, including through the African Continental Free Trade Area.
In the interim, the statement said every person conducting business in Kenya is required to comply with immigration, work-permit, registration and licensing requirements.
The government will carry out an orderly regularization exercise over the next 90 days, coordinated by relevant agencies in consultation with the embassies concerned, to give affected persons a structured opportunity to regularize their immigration status and business operations.
During that period, the statement said requirements will be administered "fairly, consistently, and without discrimination." At the end of the 90 days, immigration, work-permit, registration and licensing rules will be enforced "firmly and strictly" in accordance with the law and due process.
The statement further warned that no individual or group has the authority to harass, intimidate, threaten or interfere with foreign nationals or their businesses, and that anyone who does so will face firm action under the law.
"Legitimate concerns about economic opportunity can never justify discrimination, excuse lawlessness or sanction violence," the statement read, adding that Kenya will remain "an open, secure and welcoming country" while protecting opportunities for its citizens and honouring its regional, continental and international obligations.
