The presidential directive to ban the importation of second-hand clothes has sparked mixed reactions from a section of Ugandans.

John Walugembe, the Executive Director of the Federation of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs), suggested that people opt for second-hand clothes because they are affordable compared to new ones.

“People buy second-hand clothes because it’s what they can afford,” he said.

Isa Ssekitto, the Kampala City Traders Association (KACITA) spokesperson, said that 90% of traders selling clothes have specialized in selling second-hand items.

“For some people, second-hand clothes are their means of thriving. The economy is struggling to the extent that affording a new shirt is a luxury reserved for the upper class of people,” he added.

President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni recently, while commissioning some 15 factories at Mbale Industrial Park, banned the importation of second-hand clothes.

While branding it as “clothes for the dead,” Museveni urged Ugandans to always buy new clothes to promote the local economy.