'Mitumba' Cover Our Poverty Nakedness

By OKORIE Hellen

Mitumba as they are popularly known have become our way of life. The heads of state of the East African Community have resolved to ban the importation of second hand clothing. The head of state of East African Community wants to ban them they serve us largely especially as a basic need.
If we take the instance of us here in the university, we highly depend on the second hand clothes. Every Saturday we flood to our common mitumba supplier, mabs to get ourselves cheap clothes, as cheap as sh 20 but of very high quality and unique.
It is argued that the mitumba clothing is undignifying because it is equivalent to wearing another person’s trash but this is better, to put another person’s discarded clothes than to walk naked. Those opposing the second hand clothes should consider under all aspects because three quarter of the African population and if we major on this case, East African countries,  three quarter come from helpless backgrounds and they can only afford the sh 20 to buy that shirt or a pair of shorts at least to cover his/her nakedness
The mitumba serve many Kenyans therefore those who want to ban the importation they are simply introducing a naked country because most men cannot afford clothes from Jades Collection or the other designer shops but the cheap second hand clothes
Banning mitumba under the present circumstance will have a two-fold effect on them. The lower middle class who can spare sh 500 for a shirt will simply buy the cheap import. The absolute poor who cannot afford more than sh50 for a shirt will have little alternative than to walk half naked
To revive the textile sector, it is important to understand consumer needs. In this case most consumers, the absolute poor, the lower middle class and sometimes even the upper middle class prefer the second hand clothes. If the rich can sometimes go for the mitumba it tells without questioning of the high quality and uniqueness the second hand clothe s have.
It will be very difficult for the heads of state of East African Community to convince people against mitumba and to force people to buy what they do not want or what they cannot afford.