By BOSCO MAGARE
Kisumu City’s low- and middle-class residents, whose purchasing power continues to be eroded by a spike in fuel prices driven by the ongoing Middle East tensions involving the United States and Israel against Iran, are increasingly finding solace in affordable street-cooked Kenyan cuisine—a blend of local Luo indigenous foods alongside coastal and Indian-inspired dishes.
To cushion themselves against the skyrocketing cost of living and rising food prices, residents drawn from both low- and middle-income groups have turned to street food vendors, among them 39-year-old Lilian Ahenda, a former Malindi-based Nakumatt Supermarket employee who lost her job in 2017 when the once-popular retail chain collapsed across Kenya and Uganda.
Today, Kisumu City’s Central Business District (CBD)—especially hubs such as Central Square, commonly referred to by residents as the “People’s Parliament” or Kamkunji, situated between Bank of Baroda, Absa Bank and the modern Kenton Square—is a bustling food scene. Other key streets such as Angawa, Ojino Okew (popularly known as Chichwa) and Akamba lanes have become major lunchtime gathering points where workers and residents eat street-cooked meals in groups, despite ongoing hygiene concerns raised by some members of the public.
Kisumu’s street food culture features a variety of dishes including Luo delicacies such as obambo, mbuta, ngege and omena, served either fried or stewed alongside ugali, rice (plain or fried), chapati and boiled Irish potatoes. Other offerings include wet-fried meat, offals such as matumbo, liver, and scrambled eggs.
Water for drinking and handwashing, together with soap, plates, spoons and forks, is ferried by boda boda riders to various street food points pioneered by Ahenda, who is also known by affectionate nicknames such as Min Wiw (mother of Wiw), Tiende Obam (bow-legged one) and Ndiss Babie (well-attired beauty).
After losing her job at Nakumatt in 2017, Ahenda returned to her rural home in Nina Kaugagi, Alego Usonga, Siaya County, where she tried to rebuild her life after years spent working in the coastal town of Malindi. As a single mother of two girls—Kimberyne Gloria Omolo, 15, a student at Moi Forces Academy in Nakuru, and eight-year-old Trinnar Rose Ahenda, a pupil at Wisdom Academy in Siaya—she struggled to make ends meet.
In 2019, she secured a job at Chandarana Supermarket in Kisumu, where she promoted tortilla chips, a newly introduced fast-food product. She says this experience sharpened her skills in food marketing and customer engagement.
“While promoting tortilla chips made from ugali crusts, I honed my food-selling skills,” Ahenda said.
However, she says poor service in some eateries around Winmart Centre near Maseno University City Campus pushed her to start her own street food business. She alleges long waiting times and poor customer service often left her without meals during lunch breaks.
“That experience pushed me to start selling street food to offer better service and affordable meals,” she said.
Her business later expanded rapidly, attracting customers across Kisumu CBD locations such as Ojino Okew (Chichwa) and Akamba lanes. Her clientele now includes office workers, traders, boda boda operators and informal sector workers within the city.
Ahenda starts her day at 4:00 a.m. preparing food before distributing stock via boda boda riders to different CBD locations. She serves more than 80 customers daily, recording transactions in a notebook and collecting payments later in the day.
She earns an estimated KSh5,000 daily—about KSh150,000 monthly—significantly higher than her previous supermarket salary, which ranged between KSh40,000 and KSh70,000 depending on overtime and public holidays.
Despite her success, she faces competition from other vendors including Benta, Charity, Brenda and Alice operating around Chichwa street.
A menu reviewed by TRBN shows prices ranging from KSh50 for ugali, KSh100 for rice or potatoes, KSh150–KSh200 for meat dishes and fish varieties such as mbuta, ngege and obambo, while omena and eggs go for around KSh100.
Many customers praise Ahenda for offering affordable meals that cushion them against rising living costs worsened by fuel price increases linked to global supply disruptions arising from the Middle East conflict and restricted oil shipping routes.
Clothes traders Apollo Ondielo Akungu and Victor Owili, who operate near Bank of Baroda in the CBD, praised the street food initiative for reducing lunch-time costs and improving productivity among workers.
“She provides affordable, tasty food that cushions us from the high cost of living,” Akungu said.
However, not all residents support the growing street food culture. Caps trader Jared Okello expressed concern over hygiene standards and the public nature of street dining.
“Hygiene risks are high, and eating in the open exposes people to discomfort. It also sends the wrong image to potential investors,” he said.
Despite differing views, Kisumu’s street food economy continues to grow as residents adapt to economic pressures, making it an increasingly central part of the city’s informal urban culture.
previous post
