NAIROBI, Kenya — The visible presence of Burundian nationals in Kenya’s urban centres, often seen selling roasted groundnuts, brewed coffee and secondhand clothing, reflects a combination of poverty, conflict and limited opportunities at home.
While recent policy debates have focused on crackdowns in the informal sector, migration experts say Burundians did not arrive in Kenya overnight. Instead, the movement from Bujumbura to Nairobi reflects long-standing economic pressures in Burundi, as well as regional mobility rules that have made Kenya an accessible place to seek work.
Severe Economic Contraction and Land Scarcity
Burundi remains one of the world’s poorest countries, with more than 70 percent of its population living below the international poverty line and depending on subsistence agriculture. High population density and limited arable land have left many young people with few prospects for inheritance or farming.
Faced with double-digit youth underemployment, chronic foreign currency shortages and persistent inflation, thousands of Burundians migrate east each year in search of basic wage labour.
Waves of Political Instability and Conflict
Kenya hosts about 16,000 formally registered Burundian refugees and asylum seekers, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Many arrived in waves linked to periods of conflict and political unrest.
The 1993 to 2005 civil war, an ethnically driven conflict that claimed an estimated 300,000 lives, displaced large numbers of people across the region. Later, the 2015 political crisis over former President Pierre Nkurunziza’s contested third-term bid pushed more than 400,000 Burundians to flee to neighbouring countries amid crackdowns on opposition figures and civic groups.
While some refugees were settled in camps such as Kakuma and Dadaab, others moved to Nairobi, Mombasa and Nakuru through urban refugee arrangements or informal community networks.
The EAC Promise and the Work Permit Barrier
Burundi’s membership in the East African Community (EAC) raised hopes of greater regional mobility under the EAC Common Market Protocol. Citizens of member states can enter Kenya without a visa for up to six months, making cross-border travel relatively easy and affordable.
But the protocol also contains a key restriction: while entry is open, formal employment or self-employment requires valid work permits. In Kenya, Class G trade permits and other formal business authorisations demand capital and administrative costs that are far beyond the reach of many low-income migrants.
Unable to meet those requirements or access formal banking, many Burundians turned to the informal economy, hawking peanuts, pushing carts, working on construction sites or running small neighbourhood kiosks where business can be done in cash and without extensive paperwork.
Kinship and Trading Networks
Over time, Burundian communities in Nairobi neighbourhoods such as Githurai, Kawangware, Eastleigh and Pipeline built informal support systems. Experienced traders often help relatives or acquaintances migrate by advancing stock, providing shelter and introducing them to local supply chains.
Those networks have helped many newcomers survive and establish livelihoods, even as their presence has become a source of political tension in periods of economic hardship and stricter enforcement.
The Burundian story in Kenya is ultimately one of survival shaped by hardship, displacement and the search for stability. For many, the informal economy has offered a foothold when formal systems closed their doors, turning roadside stalls and market spaces into places of resilience, not just trade.
Burundians at the Embassy in Kenya