Is Kikwete Planning To Reptriate All Kenyans?

Recent quiet developments cause concern amongst the Kenyan community in Tanzania. Will history repeat itself?

The new government of President Jakaya Kikwete has hardly been in power for 5 months but already Kenyans living in the country are starting to feel the heat. At first this blogger thought that the developments in the still officially socialist nation of Tanzania is in reaction to the Kenyan domination that is beginning to emerge in many parts of Africa and indeed the world.

Diminishing opportunities back home that started in the dark Kanu days, has led many Kenyans to relocate to many other parts of Africa and the world where their superior educational background and sheer determination is beginning to show. We now have a sizeable Kenyan community in most African countries and in some of them Kenyans are now being seen as a threat.

However evidence on the ground clearly indicates that the Tanzanian situation is quite different.

Impeccable sources have informed this blogger that since the beginning of the year, some prominent Kenyans have had their work permits quietly cancelled and have been asked to leave the country. The same sources have proved to this blogger that the government policy in Tanzania now is that no expired Kenyan work permits are being renewed and new ones will not be issued to any Kenyan. This policy does not seem to affect nationals of other countries, most notably South Africans (mostly white) and expatriates from the West.

Further reports indicate that some prominent Kenyan busainessmen in Tanzania have not been spared and some have had their owrk permits withdrawn and asked to leave their businesses with their Tanzanian partners in corcumstances that are not clear.

What complicates the situation further is that the Tanzanian government's official position when asked about work permits that have delayed for months on end is that they are still being processed. That was the recent answer given by the immigration minister when the question was raised in Arusha during the East African heads of State meeting.

Investigations on the ground indicate that there is now emerging evidence that the style of diplomacy expected from President Jakaya Kikwete, the most popularly elected President in the history of East Africa and probably beyond, is that of saying one thing officially and then doing the exact opposite in practice. Resident Kikwete is the immediate former Foreign Minister for Tanzania. This practice of saying one thing and then doing the opposite is exactly how war-time Germany's Adolf Hitler caught everybody flat-footed by talking peace when he was actually busy preparing for war.

A recent incident where a Briton was denied entry into Tanzania from what appeared to be "instructions from State House, Dar" is illuminating. A few days after this occurrence that was probably just about to blow out into a full diplomatic controversy, local newspapers in Tanzania revealed that there were conmen posing as senior State House officials. Somehow the newspapers were able to get the usually hush hush information that a Briton had actually been denied entry into Tanzania by one of the alleged "conmen".

Maybe the story was true after all, and there were actually conmen operating with close links to Kikwete's State house, but one wonders what the motive of such a conman would have been. What do you gain from denying a Briton entry into the country? The assumption is that conmen are supposed to operate with financial gain as their driving motive.

What most Kenyans on the ground see, is an emerging pattern in the style of leadership of the new President and it seems that one his key agendas is to deal with the "Kenyan problem."

It is clear that Kenyans living in neighboring Tanzania are now experiencing what ODM leader Raila Odinga has been going through for a long time with rampant "Raila phobia" in the circles of power. There is serious "Kenyans phobia" in Tanzania.

Nothing illustrates this better that the recent developments at the country's badly bleeding national carrier, Air Tanzania. About 3 years ago Air Tanzania entered into a strategic partnership with South African Airlines. The latter rudely brushed aside Kenya Airways who had shown an interest in entering into a similar arrangement with Air Tanzania. Now the "marriage" with the South Africans is headed for divorce. But when Kenya Airways (through Precision Air, a privately owned Tanzanian airline where KQ owns 49% of the shares) indicated that they were interested in taking over where SAA left off and injecting the cash required, it caused quite a stir in Dar. It was clear that there was open hostility and opposition towards any such development which culminated in front page newspaper articles quoting "unnamed experts" who said that it would be a mistake for Air Tanzania to be sold to anybody again. They suggested instead that the government pumps in more money and runs the airline. Obviously the so-called experts are yet to hear of 9/11 and the impact it has had on the airline industry which has left very few profitable airlines in the world. In fact Kenya Airways itself is very fortunate to be still in the black. It can be attributed more to plenty of luck, and the right combination of circumstances than to the excellent professional management. Interestingly even SAA that is wholly government owned has not made a profit for the last few years.

But Air Tanzania is a local issue and the Tanzanians have the full prerogative to do what they want with their national carrier. The main point of this post is to paint a clear picture of what is going on, on the ground.

Apparently rumours have been doing the rounds for weeks now, that the government is expected to make a major move against Kenyans living in Tanzania soon. It is not clear what this confrontation is going to be but the rumors have persisted.

This blogger is informed that incase there is a mass ejection of Kenyans from Tanzania, it will not be the first time it has happened. It happened in the 70s and Kenya swiftly reciprocated the move by repatriating Tanzanians then living in Kenya.

My informant may have sounded a little bitter when they made the following concluding remarks;

"Whatever happens, every effort should be made to get the Tanzania government to put its' cards on the table concerning Kenyans living in their country. Maybe Kenyans living in Tanzania should just take the initiative and leave en-mass to help the Tanzanians rid themselves of "the problem". There are plenty of opportunities from more welcoming emerging nations like Sudan and Rwanda, not to mention Malawi and Zambia."

See also why ordinary Tanzanians do not support free movement of labour and the proposed East African Federation.