Kenyans are sheep in colourful clothing

It is surprising how many things Kenyans today take for granted as if they were a natural part of their lives.

Take the matter of dress.

There is no doubt that nowadays Kenyans are as trendily dressed as anyone else in the world, but this was not always the case. The truth is that not long ago, with the exception of a privileged few, Kenya was a pretty drab nation in terms of dress.

A discussion I overheard some three decades ago is instructive. I was standing near a group of eminent women at a cocktail reception at a high-end Nairobi hotel one evening.

One of them was Prof Wangari Maathai. She was characteristically clad in flowing kitenge dress and leather thong sandals and her hair was piled together in a mass of braids.

Uninspiring garments

The other women were not more stylishly got up either as they were all dressed in the uninspiring garments available locally at the time.

Then the group was joined by Orie Rogo Manduli, who even in those days, was, sartorially, a sight to behold, standing out like a peacock among ugly ducklings.

When someone complimented her on her dress and inquired where she had bought it, she preened herself and bragged that she was a frequent international traveler and could, therefore, afford to maintain a respectable wardrobe.

“In fact, I arrived from London yesterday,” she boasted.

Perhaps with the exception of Mathai, who would not have given greater attention to her manner of dress if she were a frequent visitor to Mars, you could see that these words had caused some envy among Manduli’s listeners.

International travel and choice of dress were no minor details in the Kenya of 30 years ago.

Those were still the days of currency restrictions and travel beyond the country’s borders was a privilege enjoyed only by a tiny proportion of the population.

Besides, the existing import substitution policy, started in the early 1970s, meant that Kenyans who could not travel abroad were restricted to wearing clothing made from locally manufactured fabrics.

The labels on men’s suits and women’s dresses proclaimed the legends of the day such as Kicomi, Rivatex and Mountex, but variety of fabrics was so limited and the tailoring so poor that everyone in the streets of Nairobi seemed to be dressed in uniform, the only difference perhaps being in the colour.

Though in those days, Moi Avenue, Tom Mboya Street and, to some extent, River Road were home to many a so-called clothes emporium, the truth was that there was absolutely no variety and even the prices were controlled.

Many of the younger Kenyans may be unaware that there was a time when even Cabinet ministers had to apply to the Central Bank of Kenya for the limited foreign exchange available to them when they travelled outside the country and it was illegal to possess undeclared foreign exchange.

Ridiculous incidents

This, besides giving rise to a thriving black market in foreign exchange, resulting in some ridiculous incidents.

An example was when Waruru Kanja, a vocal assistant minister who had fallen afoul of the powers that be for his independent-mindedness, was arrested at the airport and jailed for being in possession of foreign exchange.

The foreign exchange controls were finally lifted in 1990 as part of the liberalisation of the economy, and thereafter, people who could afford it were able to travel freely and shop wherever they wished.

These changes also made it possible for importation of second-hand or mitumba clothes.

Say what you will about this development, but it has truly revolutionised how the country looks and feels about itself.

It is quite a while since I entered anybody’s shop, yet I pride myself on being a pretty sharply dressed chap.

In many ways, such as in political choices, we may be accused of being a nation of sheep, but they are a varied and colourful sheep.