African Insights Ezine – July 2004
“Dead White Man’s Clothing Get a Second Life
in Africa”
Shopping for Clothes African Style at Owino Market:
In America they are called vintage clothing or consignment shops.
There are also the second-hand retail places like the Salvation
Army, Goodwill Stores, Thrift shops of all kinds, where even those
who can afford to shop at department stores go in search of that
exclusive designer dress for a mere pittance.
I have frequented such treasure troves in search of books and other
things and often would peruse the clothing section. On one occasion
I found a jacket that looked brand new, fit perfectly, and made me
feel good. After having it cleaned, I put it on for the first time
and the thought came to me, “What if this is a dead man’s jacket?
What if the man died while wearing this jacket?” It was only a
fleeting thought and I wore the jacket on many occasions.
Some years later, as I walked through Owino Market in Kampala, one
of the traders looked at me from his clothing stall, holding up a
suit and laughingly shouting, “Hey, Papa! How about buying a nice
dead man’s suit?”
Up to that time I never paid attention to the whole business of
clothing in Eastern Africa, but those words struck a chord within
me. I looked at the people in the market and saw them holding up
clothes that had been worn in places like New York, Toronto and
Antwerp, but now being offered again to cover someone in East
Africa. If clothes make a man or woman as some say, then these bales
of clothes sent from afar sure had another day.
Africa used to be a most colorful place when it came to traditional
clothing styles. You can still buy such innovative, African styles
at trendy boutiques in Kampala, Nairobi and Kigali. The problem is
that only the well-to-do and upper class can afford the traditional
dresses, while the average person has to settle for what might well
be “dead white man’s clothing.” (You will see the Busuuti or Gomesi
dresses, the wraps (Kanga) but most people will usually buy clothes
at Owino that came from afar.)
The reason is simple: When you have an income of a dollar per day,
you cannot go down to Pioneer Shopping Mall in Kampala
and buy a dress from a fashionable shop for 45 dollars, but you and
100,000 other shoppers wind up at Owino Market, Africa’s largest
market with thousand and thousands of stalls featuring clothing from
various parts of the world, waiting to grace a man or woman in
Kampala. (100,000 shoppers per day, 200,000 during the holidays,
this makes Owino the largest market in Africa)
Ugandans do wonders with the American and European castoffs that
came across the sea in 40-foot containers to be
sorted in some
warehouse in Kampala just adjacent to the market. The best stuff
goes to higher end traders and the low-end stuff goes up-country to
the villages where the income is the lowest and people can afford
only the smallest amount of money for clothing. There are also women
who pre-select clothing for their clients. They work almost like
“Avon Calling;” taking the clothing to the homes of clients, knowing
their tastes and financial capabilities and so on. Mere words cannot
describe the activities of the market, the energy one feels when
going through there and the throngs of people looking for that
special something from shoes to shirts.
However, this trade in “dead white man’s clothing” is causing some
problems for Uganda and its textile industry, causing them to
complain to the government. Legislation is being considered that
would block the “Mitumba (baled) Clothing Trade.” Second-hand
underwear is already banned in much of East Africa for hygienic
reason.
As you look around in Africa, you will see that “dead white man’s
clothing” is not the only cast-off found here. Africa has become the
world’s dumping ground for used things, one giant Goodwill
Thrift-Store. The roads of Africa are dotted with old Japanese cars
(left-hand drive cars) in the old British colonies and European cars
in the former French-speaking colonies.
Enter a government office and you see people working with used
computers. Yes, many of Africa’s governments are running on used
computers that were recycled by some company in the USA (receiving a
tax write off for their donation).
Go to the pharmacy and drug shop and often the medicine will be
outdated, cast off, or made by some fly-by-night outfit to look as
if it was medicine but in reality is simply sugar. In East Africa,
30% of anti-malarial drugs are counterfeit.
There are the old refrigerators with Freon oozing out, the medical
equipment in hospitals that was not good enough for Western patients
with British, French, and US markings on them. There are the schools
with libraries of donated books that are 50 y
ears old and not
relevant. And don’t forget some of the defective and substandard
food items being dumped into Africa every day. So, one can quickly
see that the second-hand clothing market is just one small part of a
greater picture that needs changing.
Yes, Africa has become a huge dumping ground for the world. The
intent, in many cases, is to be of help, but it is not moving Africa
forward toward its place in the sun of economic success. In fact,
Africa is the only continent that has receded in progress during the
last 25 years. (In part this is due to corrupt leaders who
perpetuate the colonial extraction process and keep its citizens
disconnected from who they are.)
Africa needs more than castoffs. Africa needs more than a tin cup
for another handout, another castoff, and another used clothing
bale. Africa needs manufacturing jobs that will give men and women a
living wage, a future, and hope. Companies that come to extract
resources from Mother Africa also need to make sure that the
raw-product is made into a finished product that is sold as such. If
we do give something, it needs to be that which will help to make
Africa independent, producing, and not dependent on Western
hand-outs, and at the end of the day, I would miss the energy of the
Owino Market, but then Owino with its African innovation there,
could become something better.

Excerpts from a Kenyan Friend's Email:
The second-hand clothing in Kenya is known as "Mitumba" and
has now become a very lucrative business. It is no longer the
market for those earning a dollar or less, even the Yuppies and
struggling middle-class shop at the "Mitumba" markets because
clothing and footwear has become amazingly expensive, even the
Bata shoes that were geared more to low-income people are not
affordable even among the working!
I also think that the "death" of African wear was as a result
of slavery of the mind by the colonial governments in Africa.
Western suits or clothing were viewed as reflecting civilized
and professional attire - which was untrue. Unfortunately Kenya
lost out and have no national outfits to identify with unlike
countries like Tanzania, Uganda, Ethiopia, Somalia, South
Africa and West African countries, because the leaders bought
into that sick mentality and preached it to the masses. It is
now "chic" or "exotic" to have African outfits which are very
expensive - like you mentioned. The only reason they get
expensive is because their manufacture is done in Europe and
then sold back to Africa at challenging prices. Africans - no
let me correct myself - Kenyans do not seem to appreciate or
have confidence in anything they manufacture and give more
prominence to imported textiles. Kenya's Raymond Clothing
Company would send their high quality suits (manufactured in
Kenya) to London where Kenyans would go and buy because
they were found in London!!! Very Silly!!! The same suit could
be bought in Kenya at a reasonable price but Kenyans would not
buy it because it is not from London and it is cheaper.
My stand is that Kenyans are socially under-developed and
this is reflected in their thinking and actions. They need to
be "emancipated from mental slavery".
It is always a pleasure reading your articles Jon.
Noni
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