NAF COMPLETES LOCAL REASSEMBLY OF FIRST TWO H125 HELICOPTERS IN LAGOS. (PHOTOS). #PRESS RELEASE.
Hundreds of Burundians flocked to their embassy in Nairobi on Tuesday to get travel documents to return home, saying they feared violence even after Kenya announced a temporary amnesty for undocumented East Africans in the country.
Many said they had faced threats after Kenyan President William Ruto last week told authorities to close down all small-scale businesses operated by foreign traders as that work should be left to locals only.
The presidency issued a statement on Tuesday saying it would still safeguard the rights of registered foreigners to work there in other sectors - and give unregistered people 90 days to sort out their papers, Reuters reported.
'WE FEEL UNWANTED HERE'
Burundians at their embassy told Reuters they still wanted to leave, saying they doubted the amnesty would protect them.
"The president has treated us like we are not human beings," Habonimana Jacques, a Burundian motorcycle taxi driver, told Reuters.
He said amnesty had been announced as an afterthought. "Even if we decide to remain we won't have security because most Kenyans are already harassing us."
"We feel unwanted here ... it's time to go home," Eric Niyonkur, a Burundian second-hand clothes seller, told Reuters. Some of those at the embassy had camped there for two straight days without food, he added.
There are about 16,000 Burundian refugees and asylum seekers in Kenya, according to the U.N. refugee agency. Many work in small-scale businesses in Nairobi, selling items such as coffee and used clothes.
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