Mitumba: Blessing to economy, curse to environment

A man ferrying mitumba garments at Toi Market in Kibra, Nairobi. [Stafford Ondego, Standard]

The issue of second-hand clothes excites an ever-unending debate, owing to its centrality in providing a livelihood to over two million Kenyans the sector employs.

Little wonder then that anything an incoming government intends to do around mitumba touches not only on the freedom to dress as one wishes and the pocket allows, but also affects livelihoods, considering our economy is largely an informal one.