By Jael Jepkemoi
A Facebook post with a digital card attributed to Channel 7 News, dated September 2, 2026, claims that President William Ruto ordered an immediate shutdown of Chinese businesses in Kenya.
Background
On Friday, August 28, 2026, small-scale traders and hawkers took to the streets of Nairobi, from the National Archives through the CBD to the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) headquarters at Times Tower. Importers and small-scale traders were outraged over a decision by the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) to raise the minimum customs reference point for consolidated cargo containers from KSh 2.5 million to KSh 3.2 million, a 28% increase implemented on August 20, 2026. Traders warned that the increase in tax made importing goods unaffordable and threatened to push the cost onto consumers already struggling with high living costs. The protests received political support from leaders such as Embakasi North MP James Gakuya, who openly criticized the government’s tax measures and called for strict legal limits to restrict foreign nationals from competing in micro retail and informal trading reserved for Kenyan citizens.
On Wednesday, September 2, 2026, President William Ruto hosted representatives of MSME traders together with Trade Cabinet Secretary Lee Kinyanjui and National Assembly Majority Leader Kimani Ichung’wah at State House, Nairobi, to address economic concerns, customs valuation issues, and market protection for local entrepreneurs.
Verification
To verify the claim, Piga Firimbi reviewed the official proceedings and video recordings of President Ruto’s address at State House on September 2, 2026.
His actual words were (translated from Swahili)
As a government, we cannot allow people to come from China and set up shops here selling the same products that MSME traders sell. I will ask for a brief on this, and if there are Chinese-owned shops, we will close them down… It cannot be that a person comes from China or elsewhere to be a hawker or open a small shop.”
President William Ruto set the enforcement deadline for Monday, September 7, 2026, when he ordered the crackdown on foreign SMEs and hawkers with instructions to fast-track the Local Content Bill, 2025, to legally reserve specific micro trade categories for Kenyan citizens.
The President did not order an immediate or total shutdown of all Chinese corporate investments, factories, construction firms, or large enterprises operating legally across Kenya. The claim that Ruto called for a blanket immediate shutdown of Chinese businesses in Kenya distorts the specific crackdown, which was strictly aimed at foreign nationals competing with local traders in micro retail and hawking.
Verdict
The claim that President William Ruto ordered the immediate shutdown of Chinese Businesses in Kenya is FALSE.
Add comment