Much at Stake if Mitumba Importation is Banned

Taking a walk through the busy open-air Gikomba Market, one will not fail to notice a beehive of activities as traders try to convince buyers to purchase their products. Some are singing in an effort to catch the attention of a potential buyer while some are literally shouting all in an effort to make a sale for the day. Welcome to Gikomba Market, an indisputable home of Kenya’s long history of mitumba business.

What comes in your mind whenever you hear the term ‘mitumba’? Maybe affordable secondhand clothes, shoes and any kind of attire that is not new. Mitumba has often been associated with secondhand clothes. Mitumba business has been there for many years. To many, mitumba is a livelihood, a daily bread and a source of wealth.

Statistics indicate that more than 80 percent of Kenyans use secondhand clothes. The main reason for this is that the clothes are affordable as well as readily available. With as little as 20 shillings, one gets a cloth that will last for months and even years. Second hand shoes often range from 100 shillings to 1500 shillings making it the major source of footwear to majority of Kenyans.

Back to Gikomba. It is estimated that more than 65,000 traders at Gikomba engage in Mitumba business. How many families are these? These are 65,000 plus people who derive their livelihood from mitumba, a business most of them have known for ages. The East African States re planning to initiate a ban on mitumba importation so as to help grow local textile industries within the states. The idea of developing local textile industries is good but the idea to ban the importation of secondhand clothes is ill advised. The local textile industry in countries will rise yes but what will be the effects on the general public? Very few people can afford new clothes. What will be the use of having new clothes with no one to buy them?

Article by Juma Fred.