Nairobi, Kenya, June 7-Deputy President William Ruto has weighed in on the Azimio -One Kenya coalition party presidential candidate Raila Odinga’s reference to secondhand clothes as garments “worn by dead people” saying the bottom-up economic model by Kenya Kwanza will help in the growth of the textile and leather industry.
Ruto said in a statement Tuesday hours after the remarks by Odinga triggered a war of words from different political quarters that the Azimio trickle-down approach is “dangerous” for Kenyans.
“Trickle down is dangerous. They branded business people’s merchandise counterfeit & destroyed them. Now clothing enterprises are dealers in dead-people’s wares to be banned. BOTTOM UP, using TVET will assist these enterprises grow from sewing, cottage to textile & leather industry,” Ruto said.
Odinga made the remark Monday night while outlining the Azimio manifesto at Nairobi’s Nyayo Sports Complex.
The Azimio presidential flag bearer argued that the importation of used clothes popularly known as mitumba has had a negative impact on the country’s textile industry as he promised to revive the lucrative industry.
“Our textile industry was killed through liberalization but then they brought Mitumba, it killed all our sector industries. Our people are only wearing clothes coming from outside the country that have been worn by people who are dead,” Odinga said
He pledged to revive primary production so that “our people who are importing mitumba can have good products to sale here.”
City lawyer Ahmednasir Abdullahi, SC, described Odinga’s remark as regretful.
“Is Hon Raila nuts…or what? What is the nexus btw Mitumba and dead people?” he tweeted.
Former Law Society of Kenya (LSK) President Nelson Havi who is eyeing the Westlands parliamentary seat on a UDA ticket dismissed Odinga’s remarks as uninformed saying a majority of Kenyans cannot afford locally produced garments which are expensive partly due to high production cost.
“60 per cent of Kenyans wear Mitumba clothes from Gikomba Market,” he said.
Odinga however clarified that he is not seeking to removing anyone out of Mitumba business but instead ensure that those who are importing the second-hand clothes get the first hand to market goods locally manufactured in the country.
“We will get the cotton, we will jinn it here, spin it here and we will make finished products here,” Odinga said.
Odinga noted that the move will boost youth employment in the country and empower them.
According to the 2020 economic survey released by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics, Kenya imported 184,555 tonnes of second-hand clothes with an estimated value of Sh17.8 billion in 2019 alone.
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