IS IT an insult to wear the vest that belonged to another man, the knickers of a women you’ve never met, the pyjamas of a child in a foreign land that you will never see? In Uganda, the Government has decided that it is.

From January next year, vendors selling mivumba — second-hand clothes given to charity shops in the West and shipped to Africa — will no longer be able to hawk undergarments. No nighties. No bras. And certainly no underpants.

“Studies have shown that diseases such as candida (an invasive parasite that attaches itself to the intestinal wall) can be transmitted by soiled mivumba,” Gyaviira Musoke, the chief inspection officer at the Ugandan National Bureau of Standards, says. “Besides, it’s demeaning to the people. There are certain items that should just not be worn by other people.”

Many people here in Uganda would agree in principle, but, when it comes down to matters of economics, they have always been ready to trade a dash of dignity for necessity.

Most Ugandans are happy to wear hand-me-downs; more than 80per cent of all clothes sold here are cast-offs from Britain, the United States, Canada, Japan and Middle East. Mivumba is much cheaper than new clothes, and the quality is seen to be better, too. “This ban is a big mistake,” said Hawa Nabisubi, 38, a petticoat seller at Owino market, a sprawling 25-acre bazaar in downtown Kampala famous for its second-hand clothes. She said that her camisoles, which sell for about 70p, typically last for a year while more expensive new garments are finished after a month’s continued wear.

“What am I going to do next year? What about all my customers who rely on me?” At the stall opposite, Daisy Namuyanja, 38, looked worried. Her pyjama stall, where a near-new beige shirt and trousers with woollen lining sells for £1.20, will have to close by the new year.

Shoppers were also unhappy. Olivia Nassimbya, 26, the owner of Olivia’s Unisex Hair Salon at the market, said: “When I buy underwear here, I first soak it to make sure it’s clean, and then there is no problem. We are poor, these clothes are cheap and each piece is unique.”

Some traders fear that the new law is the beginning of the end for mivumba. Local textile manufacturers have been lobbying for a ban on the clothes, as they cannot compete on price.

The Government has introduced import taxes on mivumba, but this has had little effect on demand. An outright ban would be deeply unpopular, for the cast-off clothing industry has developed into a super-slick operation employing tens of thousands of people. Business starts before dawn every morning, when huge bales of clothing arrive at Owino market. Wholesalers buy the bundles without having seen them, unaware of what sartorial gems or blunders lie within. Garments are swiftly sorted into three classes; the best will go uptown to the retail outlets, the next tier stay at in Owino market. The dregs find their way to smaller towns for resale.

Mivumba has spawned an entire support industry. The whirr of sewing machines competes with traders’ cries and music blaring on the radios, as women repair torn clothing. Men work the ironing boards, using ancient irons heated on open flames to work out the creases before the clothes go on display. A boy walks around with a bucket of dried fish, ensuring that shoppers and retailers do not go hungry. A man with a pan full of fried white ants does a brisk trade.

Vendors know what sells best and choose their stock from the wholesalers carefully. Italian shoes are always in demand, as are Levi’s jeans. “Mzungu (white man), I have your size,” one trader says, holding up a pair of blue 501s. British suits are afforded pride of place in the the suit stalls. A pinstriped Burton suit is going for £20, a Next jacket for £3. A yellow Daks of Jermyn Street blazer will set you back just £8 — and that’s before the obligatory bargaining.

“The UK makes the best suits,” Paul Ssali, 38, said, sitting in front of his suit stall. “Marks & Spencer especially.”

• The United States has granted Uganda $200 million (£109 million) for HIV/Aids programmes, including support to vulnerable children, the US Embassy announced.

  The US will give Uganda $100 million in new grants to support orphans and vulnerable children as a part of President Bush’s Emergency Plan for Aids Relief. “In addition, more than $100 million in Emergency Plan funds have been allocated to Uganda during 2004 for new or continuing HIV/Aids prevention, care and treatment programs,” it said in a statement.

  The embassy revealed that five organisations — Africare, AVSI, Christian Aid, Plan International and the Salvation Army — had won competitive awards for the first $100 million grant.

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