Kenya to Become Visa-Free to African Nationals

Facts

• At a climate conference in the Republic of Congo last week, Kenya's Pres. William Ruto announced that Nairobi will abolish visa requirements for all African nationals starting next year to facilitate the implementation of the continental free trade area.¹
• Recalling that commercial activities between the East African Community had soared after removing visa requirements and tariffs, Ruto described the move as critical to boosting bilateral trade, saying current limitations obstruct local businesses and regional growth.²
• Kenya has already signed deals with Angola, Comoros, Djibouti, Eritrea, Senegal, South Africa, and Indonesia to allow visa-free travel for their citizens.³
• Though a visa-free Africa is a vital part of the African Union's Agenda 2063, only Benin, Seychelles, and The Gambia have no visa requirements for African travelers.⁴
• In 2016, the African Union launched its African passport to create a continental visa-free regime, but the idea hasn't taken off entirely due to concerns over security, smuggling, and the impact on employment markets.⁵
• Kenya ranked 31st out of 54 African states on the 2022 Africa's Visa Openness Index, which measures the accessibility of African nations to travelers from other African countries.⁶

Sources: ¹The Guardian, ²Sputnik Africa, ³The Star, ⁴VOA, ⁵BBC News and ⁶Africa News.

Narratives

• Narrative A, as provided by The Standard. The decision to remove visa requirements for fellow Africans willing to visit Kenya demonstrates that Ruto is committed to reinvigorating the Pan-African movement after decades. A visa-free Africa, in which borders are turned into bridges, will help promote trade and investment in the continent.
• Narrative B, as provided by Africa Interest. One can't be deceived by the seams when it comes to William Ruto and his alleged pan-African agenda. After all, this move is just the latest in a political career that has been built on appealing to that sentiment to defraud the nation and meddle across the continent to advance Western interests in Africa.

Predictions