By Kevin Philips Momanyi
Located in Nairobi’s business district, the famous Gikomba market is ever-busy and bustling with commercial activities.
Established in the 1960’s, the open air market is known for its assorted second-hand clothes.
The second-hand clothes are called Mitumba in Swahili – the language widely spoken in East Africa.
As you approach the market, what welcomes you is the loud sound of enthusiastically enticing traders and hawkers inviting customers amid persistent hooting from usually rickety commercial taxis locally known as ‘Matatu’
It is common to hear traders wooing customers with phrases like: "Karibu customer, Mitumba kwa wingi’ which is loosely translated as "Welcome Customer, Mitumba in abundance here."
Mitumba in the Swahili language means "bundles," referring to the plastic-wrapped bundles of second-hand clothes.
Goods at the Gikomba market ''are not expensive and are unique,'' says Grace Karangu, a regular buyer at the market. She described the goods at the market as ''good quality.''
However, one's bargaining ability is crucial in getting the best price, saving extra money and dealing with the traders' tactics.
The market opens throughout the week but it is more lively and busy over the weekend with increasing sideline social activities like music.
The majority of Kenyans especially those living in the capital Nairobi are familiar with the market since childhood. People go with their families for their best wears.
''I have known this market since I was a kid. 'I'm now 41 years old. All my clothes are from here,'' says John Gathee, a resident of Nairobi.
The market attracts thousands of people - both buyers and sellers - from Tanzania, Uganda, and other parts of Kenya.
These countries are among top importers of second-hand clothes in East Africa with Kenya importing around 100,000 tonnes of such clothes annually, according to the government.
Most second-hand clothes in Africa are imported from Western countries. But African governments are taking measures to ban the importation of second-hand clothes from outside the continent.
After a meeting of the Council of Ministers on the Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) last week in Nairobi, the AfCFTA Secretary General, Wamkele Mene, said that the decision was crucial towards boosting textile industries in Africa.
“The decision of the Council of Ministers is a strong message that our single market will not be used as a dumping ground for used clothes coming from outside Africa,” Mene was quoted by the local media as saying.
For Joyce Ndung’u, a trader at Gikomba market, a ban on the importation of second-hand clothes should be gradual because a hasty decision could affect the source of livelihood of people like her.
The second-hand clothes business is ''my source of livelihood. I don't know any other job,'' she told TRT Afrika. She advised the authorities to look for a ''better way of growing our local industry.''
Although the Gikomba market is best known for clothes, traders also sell food items and kitchenware.
The Gikomba market is not only providing economic opportunities for thousands of East Africans, it is also a source a revenues for the Kenyan government.
