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Ban on preworn clothing in Uganda - 13th December 2023

Imports of secondhand clothing are to be banned in Uganda, if the country's president Yoweri Museveni has his way.

USAID, a US government humanitarian agency, conducted a study which revealed that East Africa as a whole imports over 12 percent of the global total of secondhand garments. In Uganda alone, 16 million people – approximately one in three – are estimated to be regular purchasers of pre-worn clothes. It's precisely this dependency that the President wishes to sever, states David Bahati, the government's trade minister.

David Bahati: "And this is the focus that our country, that His Excellency the President, President Museveni says this must be sorted, because Ugandans need to put on new clothings."

While a major part of Uganda's cotton crops have long been cultivated for export, Bahati's convinced that the resource can be channelled to address clothes manufacturing within the domestic market.

David Bahati: "We have cotton. We can produce all these things that we're talking about in the secondhand market, here in Uganda. And we have companies that have started producing."

The potential ban has instilled considerable fear among the traders at Kampala's bustling Owino market, which has, since 1971, been the city's main hub for Uganda's secondhand clothing industry.

Peace Mackline is one of the numerous shopkeepers who deals in the trade.

Peace Mackline: "So if they come and ban us, number one we are going to lose our jobs. Sustaining our families is going to be very difficult."

Likewise, the possibility of a veto on used garments troubles patrons, owing to their affordability and also their improved quality.

Grace Nakytende: "They are cheap, people easily can make, can get them at a cheaper prices. Every, every person can buy cheap clothes, better than these new shoe, these new clothes."

In a country where, according to the World Bank 30 percent of the population lives below the poverty line, the implementation of such a drastic ban is certain to meet with stiff resistance.