Sudan’s populist decision to expel Kenyans is bound to backfire
What you need to know:
- One way or the other, this was bound to happen, perhaps in a civilised way, through gradual restrictive legislation in the form of tough-to-get licences, work permits, etc; certainly no one thought of expulsion.
The directive by the government of South Sudan that foreign workers leave the country by October 15 rekindles memories of the infamous expulsion of Asians by Uganda’s Idi Amin in 1972.
The only difference is that in Uganda, the intention was to take over businesses owned by Asians which had dominated the financial and trading sectors for decades.
Kenya, which has been involved in the creation and birth of this new state is likely to feel short-changed, as the bulk of the “expatriate community” is Kenyan.
The explosive political situation in that country makes the timing of this populist order seem aimed at obtaining sympathetic support for the embattled government. But it should be natural for Kenyans to tag the directive as “xenophobic”, given the past reports of Kenyans, even truck drivers, being targeted for extortion and death at the slightest provocation.
One way or the other, this was bound to happen, perhaps in a civilised way, through gradual restrictive legislation in the form of tough-to-get licences, work permits, etc; certainly no one thought of expulsion.
The directive poses a big challenge to firms such as KCB and Equity Bank that depend on Kenyan staff, whose work-horse culture has yielded good returns. Whether Sudan’s schooled and elitist lot living in Nairobi will rise to the occasion and work under war-torn conditions at home remains to be seen.
JOE MUSYOKI, Kitengela
