Those familiar with Kenya, markets and 'street food' will already have come across the piles of dried fish with their unmistakable smell, overflowing in jute sacks or straw bags, and inside aluminium cans serving as measuring cups, placed on tables or stools outside the kiosks.  It is almost exclusively women who handle and sell them. These are the 'omena', the sardines of Lake Victoria. It is a unique freshwater fish (silvery cyprinid), a small African member of the carp family and the only indigenous fish species left in the lake after the introduction of perch and tilapia, which almost wiped out the zooplankton on which the other fish fed.
The omena is only caught on moonless nights and the next day the women begin the drying process, which can take one or two days, depending on the weather.
The Kenyan omena end up at the big market in Kisumu and from there, in sacks, they are transported all over the country. Even on the shores of the Indian Ocean, in the markets of Mombasa, Malindi and other towns, it is easier to find omena of marine fish. This is because dried fish can last for weeks and only a little of it is needed to flavour a family's usually polenta (ugali) dinner. Its history and use are reminiscent of the 'missoltini' of Lake Como, which at one time, together with (yellow) polenta, were one of the people's staple foods in times of misery.

Here is the most popular Kenyan omena recipe.

Ingredients:

1 cup omena
1 ripe tomato
Juice of 1 lime
1 onion
Salt to taste
1 small piece of grated ginger
1 clove of garlic, minced

Procedure:

Sift and clean the omena, to remove sand, scale and impurities.
Rinse them well with warm water.
Chop the onion and fry it in a pan with two tablespoons of vegetable oil, add garlic and ginger and finally the omena. After two minutes of simmering, add the diced tomato, a tablespoon of water and cover the pan. Cook for 8-10 minutes, adding a little water if necessary.
When serving, add lemon juice.
Serve with ugali (cornmeal porridge) and a leafy vegetable (preferably sukuma wiki)