President William Ruto’s State Visit to South Africa from Wednesday could be a routine trip between the two countries. But the Kenyan diaspora community in South Africa say it should be opportunity to right things up.
Dr Ruto landed at Waterkloof Air Force Base in Pretoria on Wednesday evening for the three-day tour. Both countries said the visit signalled importance of their relations, describing their ties as both “strategic” and “cordial.”
Yet under the veil of diplomatic camaraderie lies the reality that relations may need adjustment to reflect rising need as well as geopolitical influences. An open memorandum by Kenyans in South Africa said Nairobi should push for stronger relations but also address some problems directly preventing the Kenyan community from profiting from the relations, including issues of certification recognition, immigration rules and trade privileges.
There are about 27,000 Kenyans living in South Africa, according to available data. It could be larger as some Kenyans shuttled between the two countries for business and may not normally participate in diaspora welfare issues. They sent back to Kenya some $250 million (Ksh32 billion) in remittances, about 5 percent of total remittances by global diaspora to Kenya.
In their memorandum, the community said they face persistent challenges across four interrelated thematic areas of migration and consular protection, access to healthcare, trade and economic participation, and education.
“While the 2022 bilateral visa-waiver allows ninety-day stays for tourism and business, Kenyans seeking general work, business or critical-skills visas continue to face long processing times, opaque adjudication and inconsistent treatment at Visa Facilitation Services (VFS) centres,” they said of South Africa’s decision to lift visa requirement for short stays by Kenyans.
Each Kenyan can live up to 90 days in a calendar year, but each visit is capped at 30 days. Overstays often deported, with Nairobi bearing the cost of deportation. Data on deported Kenyans so far has not been provided.
But Kenyans in South Africa say they also want Nairobi to address the issue of xenophobia. In South Africa, mobs of vigilantes have been targeting African foreigners there, accusing them of taking jobs meant for locals. Some countries such as Ghana and Nigeria have been evacuating their nationals. On Tuesday, Malawi became the latest to announce repatriation of its nationals.
“The repatriation exercise is intended only for Malawian nationals who have voluntarily indicated their willingness to return home and require logistical support from the government,” said a statement from Malawi’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Kenya’s High Commission in Pretoria cautioned Kenyans to stay off violent public places and asked them to stay in contact. But it said no Kenyan had been hurt in the chaos so far.
Kenyans there said they must push for protection from “xenophobia and securitised policing” on foreigners.
“Periodic anti-migrant mobilisation, including by groups such as Operation Du dula and more recently March to March has affected Kenyans at clinics, schools and informal-trade venues, particularly in Gauteng,” the Kenyan Diaspora in South Africa said.
“The Kenya High Commission’s voluntary Diaspora Registry has low uptake, and consular services beyond Pretoria are constrained, complicating crisis response, documentation and repatriation.”
Xenophobia has not been clearly marked on the agenda when President Ruto meets his host, Cyril Ramaphosa. But it has punctuated discussions in the past. When Ramaphosa was in Kenya for a state visit in November 2022, he said his country would not use immigration to block free movement of people.
“Immigration must never be a source of division. Africans should embrace one another, not chase each other away.”
“We must confront xenophobia wherever it arises, because it undermines the Pan-African vision of unity and prosperity,” he said then.
The Kenyan community also had other items on the wish-list, such as asking the Kenyan government to work on an agreement to allow Kenyan workers in South Africa to repatriate their social security and labour contributions, and to benefit from local health insurance in South Africa reimbursed from their social health insurance fund contributions in Kenya.
South Africa and Kenya already have a non-double taxation agreement, allowing workers earning income in one jurisdiction not to be taxed in the other.
The Kenyan diaspora also said they need wider coverage to allow them vote in diaspora. While South Africa is one of the regions where diaspora vote, such can only happen at the High Commission in Pretoria.
Overall, experts say bilateral issues matter just as much as regional and geopolitical issues affecting both countries.
“The two countries should operate directly, one on one. The truth, however, is that you cannot avoid the countries that lie between them particularly on matters of trade because sometimes the goods that must be moved use road transport, for example tea exports from Kenya. It is important to also involve broader continental areas,” said Dr Bob Wekesa, director, African Centre for the Study of the US at the University of the Witwatersrand.
According to him, the two countries have respective influence in their regions; Southern African Development Community and East African Community respectively. And that they need to bring their neighbours on board when it comes to infrastructure, security and other partnerships.
“Bilateral relations between South Africa and Kenya cannot be implemented by them operating like islands. They must figure out, for example the very tough issue of better coordination between SADC and the East African Community,” Dr Wekesa told the Nation, warning that gaps in between can form non-tariff barriers and make goods expensive at destination.
“That means that when the two countries negotiate with countries like US and China, they must factor in implications for intra-Africa policy frameworks that are in place.”
