00:01Hundreds of Burundians are lining up at their embassy in Nairobi.
00:05Many fear they could be forced to leave as Kenya tightens rules on foreign traders.
00:11Some Kenyan vendors say foreigners are taking low paid jobs and running small shops.
00:16That, they say, is creating unfair competition and making it harder for locals to earn a living.
00:22In response, President William Ruto last week moved to shut down retail businesses
00:27operated by foreigners without the required permits.
00:32On the regulation of small businesses,
00:36in that bill we have proposed that there are businesses which cannot be done by foreigners here in Kenya.
00:47Let there not be an instance where a foreigner from China or any other place
00:54comes to be a hawker or is running a small shop somewhere.
01:02Burundians are among those hit hardest by the new rules.
01:05Many rely on small informal businesses to support their families.
01:09The directive has also fueled xenophobic attacks.
01:12Some Burundians say they've been beaten, robbed and forced from their homes.
01:19Leonidas is one of them.
01:20He's been living in Kenya with his wife and children.
01:23He shows us the few belongings he managed to save after being evicted.
01:28The situation is very bad.
01:30I'm dying of hunger.
01:31I don't have money.
01:33All the money I had has been used up.
01:35I don't have the bus fare to go back to Burundi.
01:38Kenya is home to about 16,000 Burundian refugees and asylum seekers.
01:43Some lack the documents needed to leave and work legally.
01:47Many are now rushing to formalize their status.
01:50Others say they would rather return home.
01:52The government has given all undocumented foreigners 90 days to obtain the required papers.
01:59I have two children here.
02:01I came from Mombasa.
02:02I've spent the last two days here.
02:04Eating has become a problem.
02:06We are sleeping on the ground outside.
02:08We have heard the president has extended the stay by three months.
02:11But we have decided to go to Burundi.
02:15I used to run a barber shop.
02:17I heard about the directive on Friday.
02:20By Saturday evening, young men came to the shop with knives and machetes.
02:24I saw I couldn't fight them since I was the only Burundian there.
02:27They said my barber shop belongs to them.
02:29And they stole it from me.
02:31They stole my mattress and every other household item that I had.
02:35And they threw me out.
02:36That's when I ran to the ambassador's office.
02:39This is where the directive by Kenya's president becomes more complicated
02:43because those arriving here are not just foreign traders facing new business rules.
02:48Some of them are refugees and asylum seekers who have known Kenya as their safe haven
02:53and now they are faced with a question of whether to stay or leave.
02:57The issue is now drawing regional attention.
03:00The Burundian embassy has asked the East African community to hold an emergency meeting.
03:05Human rights groups have raised concerns about the treatment of foreign nationals during the crackdown.
03:10Our history has always been centered on brotherhood and unity.
03:17So now these things that have happened in South Africa,
03:20what is now happening in Kenya because of this directive,
03:24it's deviating from this unity and brotherhood and hospitality that we have enjoyed
03:32because we actually have a common history.
03:35And it also puts the vulnerable in harm's way like women and children
03:40and people who are starting over because they have fled from persecution.
03:46Meanwhile, some Kenyans have responded with messages of solidarity,
03:50flying the Kenyan and Burundian flags side by side.
03:54Burundians waiting outside the embassy are asking themselves one question.
03:58Is a one-way ticket home safer than staying in Kenya?
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