School Games: Food vendors making a killing with exorbitant prices in Kakamega
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Reading Time: 2min | Thu. 31.07.25. | 09:37
As thousands of students, teachers, and football-mad fans troop into Kakamega and Mumias towns for the National Secondary School Term Two Games, food prices have sprinted faster than most athletes at Bukhungu Stadium
In Western Kenya, two things are normally abundant: torrential downpours and food.
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With annual rainfall ranging between 1,000 to 2,000 mm, the region has long been the breadbasket of the country, offering affordable meals where a chapati rarely crossed the Ksh10 mark.
But for the past four days, that story has taken a deliciously expensive twist.
As thousands of students, teachers, and football-mad fans troop into Kakamega and Mumias towns for the National Secondary School Term Two Games, food prices have sprinted faster than most athletes at Bukhungu Stadium.
From chapatis to lollipops, the cost of basic snacks has ballooned, triggering grumbles from visitors but pure joy from local vendors.
"This is our only chance to make money," says Maxwell Okello, a street vendor stationed outside Kakamega High School.
"These schools make it hard for us to even hawk, they want Ksh500 from our small kiosks. So when an event like this lands, we grab it with both hands."
The result? Boiled maize that usually sells for Ksh10 is now going for Ksh30.
Chapatis, the humble darlings of Western cuisine, are being flipped at Ksh40.
Even bottled water is suddenly acting brand new, with lollipops now demanding Ksh20 from your pocket.
For vendors, this is not price gouging, but they say it is economics 101.
"We have over 2,000 students here, and they all have one thing in common: they eat," laughs one vendor. "You can call it inflation. We call it opportunity."
Dogo Wanyama, who runs a small eatery near Kakamega High School, says her business has never seen such demand.
"By 9:00 a.m., we’re already on the second batch of food," she says.
"The foot traffic is unbelievable. If we had these games every week, I’d be driving a Vitz by now."
Initially, vendors feared that the Kenya Secondary Schools Sports Association (KSSSA) would clamp down on their booming business with new taxes.
"They threatened us with levies, but so far, crickets," says Okello with a grin. "So we’re just selling like there’s no tomorrow."
While the focus remains on the pitch, where future stars are making their mark, outside the stadiums, another game is being played, one of survival, entrepreneurship, and maize economics.
Because here in Western Kenya, food is not just fuel. It is business for the next few days before normal order is restored.
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