Ban of “mitumba clothes” in Kenya is totally ill advised

Kenya is a mitumba country! From cars to food to clothes, we import almost everything. This is undeniable truth. It’s a fact that we cannot run away from. It’s even ridiculous to hear the reasons given by the government in readiness to abolishing “mitumba” cloths in Kenya. Banning mitumba in Kenya is totally an ill-advised idea. Millions of Kenyans make a living from buying and selling mitumba, and almost all Kenyans wear mitumba at least some of the time.

As a matter of fact, over 30 million Kenyans depend on these cheap cloths to hide their nakedness! They actually cannot afford the expensive cloths sold in the up market in Kenya. The idea of bringing clothes for dead people should not be the reasons why the government is banning mitumba cloths. This reason is laughable!

When President Uhuru Kenyatta was the finance minister, he slashed import duty on second-hand clothes from $0.3 per kilo or 45 per cent to $0.20 per kilo or 35 per cent. These rates are still applicable. So what has changed? Now that the former finance minister is the current President, Mitumba should not be abolished!

It’s also laughable that mitumba clothes in Kenya are inhibiting the improvement of Kenya’s value chain in the apparel and textile industry making it vibrant again. The argument that banning mitumba will make our textile value chain become so much more efficient does not benefit us at all.

The Kenya Bureau of Standards (Kebs) ruled that importers of second-hand clothes and shoes would have to ensure their goods have been fumigated and inspected by a public health authority at the country of origin and this should be the way to maintain cleanliness. They would also have to get clearance certificates from Kebs.

Let’s nurture this noble idea of “mitumba” and put stringent measures to those taking advantage of the same!