About five million Kenyans have been affected by the challenges facing the second-hand clothes trade in the country.
According to a report released by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS), second-hand clothes, 'mitumba' imports dropped by 71 per cent in the year 2020. This has been largely attributed to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Data provided by KNBS indicated that 13,334 tonnes of mitumba clothes were imported into the country for the third quarter of 2020, which was a drop from 45,659 tonnes imported during a similar period in 2019.
The report further revealed that only Ksh1.4 billion was spent by the traders in the third quarter of 2020 imports compared to Ksh4.5 billion spent the year before.
Mitumba Association of Kenya Chairperson Teresia Wairimu stated that the decline had affected millions of Kenyans, directly and indirectly, dependant of the trade in the country.
"The second-hand clothes market supports two million traders directly ad three million other small businesses in related trades, not to mention most Kenyans would prefer the clothing due to the prevailing economic conditions," Wairimu stated.
Following the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic in the country, Trade Cabinet Secretary Betty Maina suspended the import of Mitumba and shoes into the country as to curb the spread of the virus in the country.
The directive affected traders from across the country as markets were shut down as to enforce measures curbing the spread of Covid-19. This left traders counting losses as their means of livelihood was halted.
On August 16, 2020, President Uhuru Kenyatta lifted the ban on the importation, however, new protocols were imposed on the import of Mitumba.
"All used textiles and used shoes intended for importation into Kenya shall be subjected to physical examination and certification under the Pre-Export Verification of Conformity to Standards (PVoC) requirements," the protocols as stipulated by Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS) read in part.
"They shall be accompanied by a fumigation or treatment certificate issued by a competent authority in the country of supply," it added.
As a result, mitumba traders in the country accused the government of crippling the sector.
