Posts falsely claim Kenya has hiked customs duties on second-hand clothing in March 2023

“KRA has ADJUSTED MTUMBA LEVY UP from Ksh. 24.35 per Kg to Ksh. 108.30. Mitumba will soon cost more. Itabidi watu watembee uchi,” reads a tweet published on March 21, 2023.

In Swahili, “itabidii watu watembee uchi” means people will be forced to walk naked because the prices of second-hand imported clothes will be too expensive.

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Screenshot showing the false tweet, taken on March 29, 2023

The post claims the KRA raised the levy for the importation of second-hand clothing, known as mitumba, into the country by more than 400 percent, from 24.35 ($0.18) to 108.30 ($0.82) Kenyan shillings per kilogram.

The same claim was shared elsewhere on Twitter (here and here) and on Facebook (here and here).

Kenya imports vast quantities of second-hand clothing every year, providing the government with revenues from customs duties and creating many jobs for locals, according to a 2021 report by the Institute of Economic Affairs.

Kenya mainly sources second-hand clothing from Europe and North America.

Ruto’s tax policies

Ruto says his aggressive tax policies (archived here) will make Kenya less reliant on foreign debt. But they have proved unpopular with many Kenyans who feel they already carry a heavy tax burden.

Kenyans on social media have nicknamed Ruto “Zakayo”, in reference to Zacchaeus, the biblical tax collector.

A 2023 February survey by Infotrack showed that a majority of Kenyans worry about the high cost of living linked to taxation and other factors such as the Ukraine war and the Covid-19 pandemic.

But the claim about the government boosting the tax rate for second-hand clothing in March this year is false.

No recent import duty hike

AFP Fact Check found that the last revision of Kenya’s importation fee on second-hand clothes dates back to June 30, 2022 and was gazetted by the EAC, a regional organisation of seven neighbouring states.

According to the EAC, the rates charged for the importation of used clothes are pegged at 35 percent of the customs value of the goods or $0.20 per kilogram (about 26 Ksh), whichever is higher.

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Screenshot showing the customs fee set by the EAC for imported second-hand clothes

The KRA told AFP Fact Check the claim was false.

“KRA has not revised the levy on clothing (mitumba) as reported on social media,” it said.

The authority also issued a statement on Twitter.

AFP Fact debunked a similar claim involving the KRA in January 2023, this time linked to a purported hike in rental tax income.