Starehe Member of Parliament Charles Njagua alias Jaguar has
been arrested outside the parliament over inciting remarks asking Nairobi
traders to eject Tanzanian and Ugandan business people from Nairobi markets.
The MP gave a 24-hour ultimatum to Chinese, Ugandan, and Tanzanian
nationals running businesses in Gikomba and Nyamakima to leave; otherwise, they
would be evicted by force.
Njagua is heard in a video complaining that citizens of the
three nationalities are taking over businesses that should be run by the common
mwananchi.
His xenophobic utterances led to the Tanzanian government
summoning Kenya’s High Commissioner to the neighbouring country to ascertain
the safety of its citizens.
On the other hand, the government spokesperson of Kenya Cyrus
Oguna issued a statement saying, “We wish to state that this is not the position
of the government of Kenya, and we denounce the comments carried in the video in
the strongest terms.”
He added that, “Such comments are unfortunate and have no
place in today’s globalized environment. Kenyans are peace-loving people who
have over the years coexisted with others of different nationalities.
This comes after an outcry from members of the public about Chinese business people infiltrating the Kenyan market as traders in Gikomba. It led to the Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i on June 12, 2019 ordering the deportation of foreigners trading in Kenya, as they do not have trading permits.
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