China’s presence in Kenya was catapulted to fame by the construction of Thika Highway and Standard Gauge Railway. But when President Uhuru Kenyatta borrowed 230 billion in 2018, their fame went over the roofs.
Reason, the loans added more pain to the already poor mwananchi who had been slapped by more VAT taxes to pay.
Otherwise Chinese presence in Kenya has been long since the pre-colonial period during the 1400s. They first docked in Mombasa, trading with the locals.
Facts about Chinese in Kenya
- Chinese government indicate that there are about 10,000 Chinese nationals living in Kenya majorly in Nairobi and Mombasa
- Most Chinese migrants in Kenya deal with trading of computers, glassware, and automobile parts for import, and shark fins for export
- Chinese have their own school in Kenya, called Kenya-China School (肯尼亚中国学校)
- KBC has a dedicated frequency for Chinese nationals in Kenya who usually tap into their local news at home via China Radio International and China Central Television
- In Nairobi, there have been secrete Chinatowns where locals have often complained of ‘discrimination’
- Chinese who settled in Nairobi usually live around the Chinese embassy, which is located near the State House and the Defence Headquarters, in a relatively high-security part of the Nairobi city
- Chinese who live in Kenya also have gone to a large extend of integrating into the society through marriage.
- Most Chinese nationals who are in Kenya are largely middle aged, since most of the young generations prefer US and Europe destinations
- University of Nairobi and Kenyatta University have enrolled Chinese programs in their studies
- Chinese language- Mandarin is largely taught in higher learning institutions as a foreign language, it is among the less preferred language to study at the moment. A very small number of Kenyans can write and speak in Mandarin
