Kenyan vice president and presidential candidate William Ruto has said he will expel Chinese nationals in jobs that could be done by Kenyans if elected in August.
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Presidential, legislative and local elections on August 9 are being held as East Africa's largest economy faces economic difficulties, caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine.
"
Let Chinese nationals roast corn and sell cell phones... We will deport them all to their country
," William Ruto told an economic forum on Tuesday.
“
All these activities are for Kenyans
,” he said.
“
Don't worry about foreigners engaged in these activities.
We have enough planes to expel them
,” he insisted.
defender of the common people
The Chinese embassy in Nairobi did not respond to an AFP request for comment.
55-year-old William Ruto is seeking the succession of President Uhuru Kenyatta, who cannot run for a third term.
He presents himself as a defender of the "
resourceful
" of the common people against the "
dynasties
" that govern Kenya.
He notably criticized President Kenyatta on his economic policies, promising to cancel the country's debt estimated at 70 billion dollars (66 billion euros), if he wins in August.
China is Kenya's second largest creditor, after the World Bank, and has funded infrastructure projects.
In particular, it lent 5 billion dollars (4.7 billion euros) for the realization of the most expensive infrastructure project since the country's independence in 1963: the train line which has linked the port city of Mombasa since 2017. to that of Naivasha, in the Rift Valley, via the capital Nairobi.
All these investments have often been accompanied by an influx of Chinese workers.
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Ruto's announcement drew mixed reactions online.
“
We owe China billions.
By doing this, we will put a strain on our relations with the country and they will also have a reflex reaction on the repayment of loans
, ”said a user on Twitter.
Others approve of this proposal.
“
It's good, nothing like this happens in other countries.
Local jobs cannot be taken by foreigners
,” another user tweeted.