Alan Hirsch
President William Ruto of Kenya recently announced that Kenya’s borders would be open to visitors from the entirety of Africa, with no visas required, by the end of 2023. He said
When people cannot travel, business people cannot travel, entrepreneurs cannot travel, we all become net losers.
A few days later, President Paul Kagame of Rwanda followed suit, saying all Africans would be able to enter Rwanda without visas.
Neither Kenya nor Rwanda will be the first. By the end of 2022, Benin, The Gambia and Seychelles had already implemented a system of visa-free access for all Africans. Perhaps more will follow soon. Some regions, some sub-regional groups and some bilateral arrangements have also resulted in visa-free access and even passport-free access in certain cases.
Within the broader East African Community, Uganda, Rwanda and Kenya allow cross border travel without passports. Botswana and Namibia recently signed a similar
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