Yves Niyiragira

Hello Brother, Umoja wa Mataifa

[East Africa Law Society(EALS) @ealawsociety]

EALS STATEMENT ON THE PROTECTION OF EAST AFRICAN COMMUNITY CITIZENS AND THE INTEGRITY OF THE EAC TREATY AND COMMON MARKET

Arusha, United Republic of Tanzania | 7th September 2026

[KNCHR @HakiKNCHR]

PRESS STATEMENT
@HakiKNCHR has expressed concern over the potential human rights implications arising from recent Government directives and public statements concerning foreign nationals engaged in small-scale businesses and trade in Kenya.

The Commission’s concern follows a directive issued by H.E. President William Samoei Ruto on 2nd September 2026 regarding the closure of small businesses operated by foreign nationals, as well as a subsequent Press Statement issued on 6th September 2026 by the Cabinet Secretary for Investments, Trade and Industry clarifying the Government’s position on work visa applications for foreign nationals.

KNCHR calls for a human rights-based approach- HRBA in the enforcement of immigration and business regulations, emphasizing the importance of ensuring that all measures undertaken uphold human dignity, equality, non-discrimination, due process and the rule of law.
(READ MORE)

[Africans Rising @AfricansRising]

Africans Rising strongly condemns the growing threats, harassment, and attacks against African people in Kenya.

Following recent pronouncements by President William Ruto targeting foreigners, Africans in particular, operating small businesses, this is dangerous and must stop.

See full statement below.

#EndAfrophobia #UnitedAfrica

[Cyprian, Is Nyakundi @C_NyaKundiH]

Ruto is becoming so unpopular that he now appears to be searching for easier people to blame, and Burundians have suddenly become convenient targets for a government that has failed to create enough jobs for Kenyans.

A Burundian doing mjengo, selling coffee, washing cars, working in a hotel or taking a low paying job is not the reason millions of Kenyans are struggling, and pretending otherwise is just lazy politics meant to redirect anger away from the people actually running the country.

Kenyans are everywhere in the world doing exactly the same thing, taking jobs in America, Europe, the Gulf, South Africa, Australia and other countries, yet Ruto now wants Kenyans to behave as if migration only becomes a problem when the immigrant is poor and African.

If Ruto thinks chasing Burundians from small jobs and businesses will suddenly make Kenyans forget taxes, unemployment, corruption, collapsing purchasing power and the cost of living, then his political advisers are badly misreading the mood of the country.

No Kenyan who has spent three years complaining about this government will suddenly wake up and vote for Ruto because a Burundian mason, waiter or shopkeeper has been chased away, because people already know who controls the economy and who has been making the decisions hurting them.

Burundians did not introduce these taxes, Burundians did not create this unemployment crisis, Burundians did not borrow these billions, and Burundians are certainly not the reason Ruto has become deeply unpopular.

Kenya should be very careful with this nonsense, because xenophobia usually begins with politicians telling frustrated citizens that foreigners are stealing their opportunities, then the anger grows until innocent people who came here simply looking for work become targets.

Ruto can campaign against Burundians from now until 2027 if he wants, but xenophobia will not manufacture votes, and blaming poorer Africans will not erase the record Kenyans will actually judge when they enter the polling booth.

[The Standard Digital @StandardKenya]

OPINION: President William Ruto is flat-out wrong about foreigners doing small businesses in Kenya. Dr Ruto revived Pan-Africanism after Muammar Gaddafi - preaching an African currency and Africa trading with itself and has earned acclaim at the UN and in Addis Ababa for that. He made multilateralism sound African again. Why does the champion of borderless trade want to hunt foreign hawkers selling duvets and screen protectors on Nairobi's River Road?
https://t.co/0QDI29fShj

[James Smart @jamessmat]

The Xenophobic scenes are heartbreaking.

[David Maraga @dkmaraga]

This morning the Government of Kenya began enforcing a crackdown against immigrant small traders, using a law that does not exist.

It is merely based on a September announcement by President Ruto that hawking and small-scale retail would be reserved for Kenyans, with enforcement from 7 September. In the same address he directed Parliament to accelerate the Local Content Bill, 2025. That Bill has not been passed.

A directive read at State House does not amend the Constitution, and it does not release Kenya from the East African Community (EAC) Common Market Protocol, which explicitly guarantees the free movement of persons, labor, and goods.

We cannot profess to lead a regional Jumuiya while simultaneously subverting its foundational frameworks, and President Ruto cannot purport to credibly champion continental initiatives, while simultaneously inciting domestic actions that subvert the tenets of Pan-Africanism.

Kenyan traders are drowning, and that pain is real. But close every foreign-run stall tomorrow and the price of maize does not move by one shilling, because the cartel that sets it is Kenyan and it has friends in government.

What killed Kenyan small businesses this year is a matter of public record: pending bills the state refuses to pay, county licence fees that rise without service, credit no trader can carry, and a revenue authority that pursues a mama mboga while fortunes leave the port undeclared.

The Government’s own figures show foreign nationals were about 1.6 per cent of the workforce in foreign-invested enterprises in 2024. This was never where the jobs went. A government that cannot give you a market will always offer you an enemy to blame. This is scapegoat policy.

It is unconscionable for a regime to actively export young Kenyans as low-wage laborers abroad while its leaders profiteer from private ownership of labor externalization firms, only to turn around and criminalize fellow Africans seeking a modest livelihood within our borders.

Ruto's "Bottom-Up" economic framework promised to ordinary hustlers has instead yielded record youth unemployment, unlawful abductions, and a tragic loss of life.

To saddle this nation with an astounding Ksh 5 Trillion in debt over a mere four years, with no tangible, worthwhile results to show for it, and then appear to blame small scale traders from Jumuiya for the economic mess is a disingenuous move.

The primary catalyst for the extreme economic misery witnessed on Kenyan streets today sits in the highest office of the Executive.

It is a gross betrayal of trust to look the Kenyan poor in the eye and pretend to protect them through xenophobic crackdowns, while simultaneously overseeing a systemic, annual loss of over Ksh 1 Trillion to state-sanctioned
corruption and wastage including the Ksh 33 Billion spent by Ruto, well above the budgetary allocation for State House.

A government that is at the forefront of propagating xenophobia will not hesitate to turn those same divisive tactics against its own citizens along ethnic, religious, or other identity lines.

Kenyans will not fall for this cheap diversionary and divisive tactics.

Under my leadership, we will respect our legal and regional commitments, and account for the resources of the Kenyan people.

We must be a country confident in our ability to solves our problems internally while looking Africaward for the friends we need in forging global strength. #Ukombozi

[African Union @_AfricanUnion]

Communiqué du Président de la Commission de l’Union africaine sur l’adoption de la résolution « Correct The Map »

Le Président de la Commission de l’Union africaine, S.E. M. Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, se félicite de l’adoption, ce jour, par l’Assemblée générale des Nations Unies, de la résolution portée par le Togo au nom du Groupe africain en faveur d’une représentation cartographique plus juste et plus fidèle de l’Afrique et des autres régions du monde.

Le Président de la Commission @ymahmoudali salue tout particulièrement le leadership de la République togolaise et l’engagement du Président du Conseil, S.E. Faure Essozimna Gnassingbé, sous l’impulsion duquel le Togo a porté cette initiative au nom de l’Afrique et contribué à mobiliser un large soutien au sein de la communauté internationale. Il félicite également les États membres de l’Union africaine et le Groupe africain à New York pour leur unité et leur mobilisation autour de cette initiative.

L’adoption de cette résolution marque une avancée importante. Conçue au XVIe siècle pour répondre aux besoins de la navigation, la projection de Mercator ne restitue pas fidèlement les superficies relatives des différentes régions du monde et donne une représentation visuelle considérablement réduite de la taille réelle du continent africain.

Au-delà de la cartographie, cette initiative rappelle l’importance de représenter l’Afrique sur la base de réalités objectives et scientifiquement établies. Le Président de la Commission encourage, à cet égard, les institutions internationales, les systèmes éducatifs, les éditeurs et les acteurs du numérique à favoriser progressivement l’utilisation de représentations cartographiques plus fidèles aux superficies réelles.

La Commission de l’Union africaine poursuivra sa collaboration avec le Togo, les États membres et les partenaires concernés afin d’accompagner les efforts de mise en œuvre de cette initiative.

L’Afrique doit être représentée telle qu’elle est : dans ses véritables dimensions et à sa juste place dans le monde.

Lire @ https://t.co/6Ivw2T2nqN

[African Union @_AfricanUnion]

The UN General Assembly is debating a landmark African-led resolution to replace the 1569 Mercator map projection with the geographically accurate Equal Earth map across international institutions, schools, and media platforms.

Sponsored by Togo and backed by the African Union member states, this initiative builds on the #CorrectTheMap to dismantle centuries of "cartographic colonialism."

Why this vote matters:
1. The Mercator Illusion: Designed in the 16th century for sea navigation, the Mercator projection distorts landmasses as they move away from the equator making Greenland appear the same size as Africa, when Africa is actually 14 times larger.
2. Visual Reality: Africa is larger than the US, China, Western Europe, and India combined. It's time the maps used in our classrooms and newsrooms reflect that reality.
3. Proportional Representation: Replacing Mercator with an equal-area projection like Equal Earth ensures geographic accuracy, ending visual bias that shrinks the Global South.
4. isn't just about geography- it shapes how we perceive power, scale, and importance on the global stage.

https://t.co/xM4OKsF9wd

[African Union @_AfricanUnion]

Congratulations to the delegation of #Togo 🇹🇬 and the Africa Group on the adoption this morning by the #UNGA of resolution A/80/L.104, “Correct the Map.”

First endorsed by the African Union Assembly in February and officially passed at the United Nations today, this @_AfricanUnion initiative marks a historic step toward accurate and equitable global cartographic representation.

For centuries, the Mercator projection distorted global geography, shrinking Africa to the size of Greenland when our continent is actually 14 times larger. Today’s resolution promotes equal-area maps like Equal Earth across classrooms, media, and international institutions ensuring the world map finally reflects Africa’s true scale, weight, and place in the world.

[ONU Info @ONUinfo]

L'Assemblée générale des Nations Unies adopte une proposition africaine pour une nouvelle carte du monde

Pour : 164
Contre : 1
Abstentions : 6

[UN News @UN_News_Centre]

On Friday, the United Nations General Assembly adopted an African proposal for a new world map, which shows countries’ true size relative to one another.

In favor: 164
Against: 1
Abstentions: 6

[Yves Niyiragira @Niyves]

#Mozambique Exposed: https://t.co/we1ep71sMA

[Yves Niyiragira @Niyves]

Resisting the Rule of the Rich via @Oxfam https://t.co/8wDKu6sKaP

[African Union @_AfricanUnion]

On this #AfricaDay, under the theme “63 Years of Unity, Integration and Development,” we honour the founding fathers not with words alone but with the commitment to finish what they started. #Agenda2063

Happy #AfricaDay
Read and download the speeches here: https://t.co/Gs7IO2yny7

[Pope Leo XIV @Pontifex]

#Peace is everyone’s responsibility, beginning with civil authorities. To govern means to love one’s own country as well as neighboring countries. The commandment “love your neighbor as yourself” is equally applicable to international relations! #ApostolicJourney #Cameroon https://t.co/C4zkA2S0YB

[Yves Niyiragira @Niyves]

From #Colonialism to Proxy Colonization: Towards a Global Pact of the Peoples https://t.co/5O3HiS9UBu

[Yves Niyiragira @Niyves]

#AFCON 2025: A Global African View https://t.co/AQEAfo6y2f

[U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops @USCCB]

"War is back in vogue and a zeal for war is spreading." - Pope Leo XIV

[Robert Reich @RBReich]

Martin Luther King Jr. understood better than almost anyone that racial justice and economic justice are inextricably intertwined. Watch his powerful call to end poverty from his final Sunday Sermon.