TikToker who says he left Kenya for Burundi after Ruto’s directive reveals they were team Wantam

A TikToker known as Jackmaa, who claims to have left Kenya after the government directed Burundian nationals to leave the country, has revealed that he fears being on the Wantam side may have contributed to his woes.

Speaking in a video shared on TikTok on Tuesday, September 8, 2026, Jackmaa opened up about his experience in Kenya, saying he and other Burundians who relied on menial jobs were among those affected by the directive.

Jackmaa claimed that he had been supporting the Wantam movement while in Kenya and believes this may have been one of the reasons the government ordered Burundian nationals to leave.

“You all Kenyans, even if you have chased away our hearts, you should know we were on the Wantam side,” he said.

The TikToker said Wantam had become an anthem among some of the Burundian youth living in Kenya, adding that he believed their political sympathies may have attracted attention at a time when the government was directing them to return to Burundi.

“That was our anthem, and I think that is why the President chased us away,” he added.

He questioned why the government had given them little time to prepare for their departure, saying the directive came suddenly and left many of them with limited opportunity to organise their affairs.

Jackmaa also claimed that Burundians surviving on small-scale and informal jobs bore the brunt of the directive, particularly those who made a living by hawking coffee and selling eggs.

“The term for him is only one. That President, I wonder why he could not even have given us two months to move out. He just woke up and said we leave,” he said.

He contrasted their situation with that of other Burundians who had established themselves in better-paying businesses and lived in more affluent parts of Nairobi, questioning why some of them had apparently remained in the country.

The TikToker specifically mentioned Burundians operating barber shops and those living in areas such as Zimmerman, Roysambu and Mirema, claiming that some continued to remain in Kenya even after the directive.

Jackmaa described the situation as unfair to Burundians who depended on small jobs to survive, saying they were among the first to be forced to leave despite having limited financial means.

“And we Burundians who do menial jobs like hawking coffee and selling eggs, we were the first to be kicked out. But others who do better jobs, like barber shops, and who live in places like Zimmerman and Roysambu, I wonder why they have not been chased. They are still there in places like Mirema. It was unfair for us who do small jobs,” he said.

Disclaimer: Some of the claims made by the TikToker may have been made in the context of creating social media content.

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