Starehe MP Charles Njagua has threatened to deport all the Chinese and other foreign traders in the country if the government doesn’t act in time
Speaking on Monday when he led Kamukunji residents together with other leaders in demonstrating against the foreigners, Njaguar said he was giving a 24hour ultimatum to the government to act failure to which he will lead the deportation exercise.
“If there are competitions from the Chinese nationals, then there will be no business for you people. Recently we witnessed Matiang’i claiming he had only deported only six Chinese nationals yet we have hundreds in here. We are giving the government 24-hour ultimatum to deport them failure to which I will lead the locals in storming their shops and ejecting them” threatened Jaguar.
MP Jaguar threatens to personally deport Chinese, other foreign traders
Link: https://t.co/7KfVqfHQNu pic.twitter.com/UOVbeBE2CQ
— NTV Kenya (@ntvkenya) June 24, 2019
Earlier last week, Interior Secretary Fred Matiang’i said the government had deported seven Chinese nationals who were found trading illegally in Gikomba market after an exclusive story carried out by the Business Daily.
The business site had revealed the presence of Chinese merchants in the Kenya’s biggest second-hand clothes market Gikombaa
“Foreigners suspected to have been illegally engaging in business in Kenya were arrested yesterday during a raid on Gikomba. Seven Chinese nationals were found to have flouted immigration rules. Officers established that three of them had no valid work permits while the other four have been engaging in employment and other income-generating activities unauthorized under their respective work permit classes,” read a statement from the Interior Ministry.
China’s Chief of Information and Public Affairs Section First Secretary Xueqing Huang, however, claimed that the Embassy was not aware of any deportation reports of its nationals.
Xueqing Huang said the ministry of interior had only informed them of ongoing investigations the Kenya government was conducting on Chinese foreign traders suspected to be in the country illegally.
He added that their own investigations revealed that there were only three Chinese internationals at the market who had valid business documents to work in the country. He observed that there were also many Kenyans in China going on with their businesses and the Chinese government had not deported them since they had legal work documents.
Jaguar’s threats to deport the foreigners were however met with rejections from a section of Kenyans who warned of a looming disaster comparing it to how xenophobia executions started in South Africa.
I just watched a video clip of Starehe MP Musician Jaguar in Kamukunji threatening to forcefully evict foreigners from their business premises.
This is a dangerous path to take. This is how xenophobia started in South Africa. He should let the government do its work.
— Ahmed Mohamed ((ASMALi)) (@Asmali77) June 24, 2019
“Let him not start such a catastrophic trend in Kamukunji. We co-exist harmoniously.” re-tweeted @Star-bwoy