President William Ruto’s announcement that Kenya will become a visa-free country for all visitors starting in January 2024 has sparked a debate among experts on its implications for the country’s economy, security, and regional integration.

While some praise the policy as a bold and progressive move that will boost tourism and trade, others warn of the potential risks and challenges that it may pose.

The policy, which Ruto made during the Jamhuri Day celebrations at Uhuru Gardens on Tuesday, December 12,  is part of Kenya Kwanza’s promise to eliminate the visa requirement for travellers who want to visit Kenya. 

 He added that all visitors will need to obtain an electronic travel authorization instead.

“It is with great pleasure, as President of this extraordinary country, to make this historic announcement of the decision of the Government of Kenya. Beginning January 2024, Kenya will be a visa-free country,” he said. 

This policy follows a similar one that Ruto announced in October, when he said that Kenya would grant visa-free entry to all Africans by the end of December 2023.

Currently, only Rwanda, Seychelles, Gambia and Benin offer visa-free access to all African citizens.

Mohammed Hersi, the former chairman of the Kenya Tourism Federation, praised Ruto’s no visa policy as a positive step for the country’s economy and tourism sector. 

He said that many people make last-minute travel plans and do not want to deal with visa hassles.

“The policy to waive visa requirements is an incredible step in the right direction. People who wish to travel, but do not want to be bogged down by the visa bureaucracies, or those who make up their mind to travel at the last minute, will take advantage of it,” he said. 

Hersi also said that this policy will attract more businesses to Kenya because of the ease of movement.

“Obviously, with these aspects, this policy is bound to mean well for job creation, enhanced revenue and foreign exchange,” he added.

However, Prof. Noah Midamba, a Senior Associate with the Global Centre for Policy and Strategy, expressed some reservations about the policy. 

He said that it is the right move, but it does not help when other East African countries are not on board.

“They will take advantage of Kenya. People will be pouring into the country from DRC Congo, from Tanzania and elsewhere. And then when Kenyans go to Tanzania, they block you,” he said.

Midamba pointed out that intra-African trade is very low compared to other regions, because of the lack of integration.

 “We have a great opportunity in the East African bloc right now. There are 300 million people in the eight countries together. And hopefully, Ethiopia and other countries can join this big East African Community. And then we can set up a fully integrated system,” he said.

 He said that such a system would entail borderless travel, open skies for flights, and infrastructure development through a common corridor for Africa.

“Until that is done, whatever President William Ruto does is almost a token. Then there are going to be consequences, where people will start coming into the country illegally and compete for jobs, housing and healthcare,” he said.

 “It is the right move for the country, but it is being done in isolation,” he added. By David Njaaga, The Standard

President Samia Suluhu Hassan could not attend Kenya's Jamhuri Day (Independence Day) celebrations because she was preoccupied with overseeing the recovery process of the recent flash floods and landslides, said Tanzania's Zanzibar President Hussein Ali Mwinyi Tuesday.

"At the moment, President Hassan is leading government efforts in dealing with the deadly deluge," Mwinyi, who represented the president at the Jamhuri Day celebrations, told Kenyan President William Ruto in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi. 

Jamhuri Day, observed on December 12 each year, is one of the most important national holidays in Kenya.

Kenya obtained its independence from the British on December 12, 1963.

Read: Kenya @60: Britain's brutal colonialism, cover-up

The flash floods and landslides that occurred on December 3 in Hanang District in the Manyara region in northern Tanzania have killed 89 people, injured 139 more people, left 5,600 other people homeless, destroyed more than 750 hectares of farm crops, and killed many livestock. Xinhua/The East African

A Ugandan high court on Wednesday sentenced a man to 105 years in prison for the murder of his four girlfriends and a baby in Nakulabye, Rubaga Division in Kampala. 

Musa Musasizi pleaded guilty to the charges before he was convicted by the trial Judge Margaret Mutonyi.

An unemployed youth and a resident of Mujomba zone 6 in Nakulabye, he was arrested on March 14, 2021, following the death of five women and a three-month-old baby in the area.

He was first arraigned before Mwanga II Magistrate’s Court and charged with six counts of murder and remanded to Kitalya prison.

Prosecutors told the court that Musasizi on March 14, 2021, with malice aforethought murdered one Noreen Nabirye. 

He is also said to have murdered Violet Kansiime, Abigail Nakitende on March 12 and Elizabeth Mutesi on March 15, 2021.

In a separate case, Musasizi was jointly charged with 23-year-old 'boda boda' rider Abdul Kasaija, also resident in Rubaga Division, with the murder of Mackline Ahereza on February 22, 2021. 

Kasaija was further charged for being an accessory to murder on allegations that he helped Musaizi to dump the body of Ahereza on February 22, 2021 in an effort to help him escape punishment.

According to a court hearing, Musasizi would court the victims, have intercourse with them, before killing them by either hitting on their heads with a blunt object or strangling.

He would later dump their bodies in places almost close to each other in Nakulabye and set them on fire.

Police said Musasizi confessed to having murdered the said women in which he explained that he killed Ahereza after suspecting her of having another boyfriend.

He further revealed that he strangled Kansiime to death, then went and dumped her body. And when he returned to his home, he strangled her three-month-old baby.

He also informed the police that he strangled Mutesi, a resident of Makerere, because they got into a fight when she rejected Ush50,000 ($13.21) he had offered her as transport, on grounds that it was less than she expected after having intercourse with him.

Police said they retrieved clothes belonging to Musaizi's victims from his neighbour's latrine. - MONITOR

Philippine Ambassador to Rwanda Marie Charlotte G. Tang (with residence in Nairobi) and Rwandan Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Vincent Biruta have signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on the Establishment of General Bilateral Cooperation between the Government of the Republic of the Philippines and the Government of the Republic of Rwanda in Kigali, Rwanda.

During a tête-à-tête prior to the signing ceremony, Ambassador Tang hailed the agreement as a milestone in Philippines-Rwanda relations, as it will provide direction and structure for cooperation between the two countries.

Foreign Minister Biruta noted the longstanding and cordial ties between Rwanda and the Philippines, and expressed the hope that the MOU would open doors for the two countries to have a more vibrant engagement across different sectors.

Under the MOU, the Philippines and Rwanda will collaborate in the fields of human resources development, scientific and technological exchanges, education, health, agriculture, gender, youth, environmental issues, and security.

During her visit to Kigali, Ambassador Tang also took the opportunity to meet with Rwandan officials from the Ministry of Gender and Family Promotion, the Rwanda National Police, and the Rwanda Development Board, initiating discussions on specific collaborations in support of the newly-signed MOU.

Rwanda, a small landlocked country in central Africa, has emerged from the ashes of the 1994 Rwandan genocide to become one of Africa’s most dynamic and fastest-growing economies. Rwanda, known as the “land of a thousand hills”, is also recognized for its conservation success of the critically endangered mountain gorilla. By Bob Koigi, African Business Community