Professor Evan Mwangi urges Kenyan politicians not to link violations to nationality
Professor of English and comparative literature Evan Mwangi has urged Kenyan politicians not to link illegal business activity to the nationality of entrepreneurs. In a column for Nation Kenya, he described recent comments targeting foreigners doing business in the country as alarming.
Legality, not nationality
According to Mwangi, companies operating illegally should be investigated, while those responsible for tax evasion and crimes should be held accountable under the law. At the same time, law enforcement should target violations of the law, not the citizenship or nationality of a business owner.
The author noted that a business does not become illegal merely because its owner was born outside Kenya. Likewise, the Kenyan citizenship of an owner does not automatically make a business legal. In his view, compliance with the law should be the decisive criterion.
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Economic difficulties and government responsibility
Mwangi considers it unrealistic to explain Kenya's economic problems by the presence of foreign traders or entrepreneurs. Among the complex challenges, he named corruption, public debt, unemployment, weak industrial growth, inequality, and governance problems. Closing foreign businesses, in his view, will not eliminate these structural problems.
As an example of the danger of directing public discontent against foreigners, the author cited South Africa. He noted that migrants from other African countries have periodically become targets of anger there over unemployment, inequality, and economic difficulties; in such cases, shops were attacked, property was destroyed, and people died.
The author also drew attention to the fact that Kenyans work, invest, study, and conduct business in East African countries and beyond. In his view, they expect fair treatment based on their own actions rather than nationality, and the same principle should apply in Kenya. Mwangi called on officials to condemn illegal acts without generalizing about entire nationalities or communities.
