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Victory prayer at Obama's ancestral home
Kenyan relatives of US Democratic presidential nominee Senator Barack Obama attend a media briefing in Nyangoma Kogelo village. Photo/ REUTERS
Posted Tuesday, November 4 2008 at 10:00
In Summary
- Kenyans in Barack Obama's ancestral homeland pray for victory.
- US election fever has swept Kenya.
Kenyans in Barack Obama's ancestral homeland prayed for victory on Tuesday as he aimed to become the first African-American president of the United States.
The western town of Kisumu, on the shores of Lake Victoria, was in a frenzy of excitement as the country's favourite adopted son began the last leg of his race for the White House.
The Democratic candidate's late father hailed from the rural region, and exuberant Kenyans gave his Republican war hero rival John McCain little hope of making a comeback after lagging for weeks in the opinion polls.
"I don't think McCain would have sold anything," said Kwamboka Okari, a woman selling Obama buttons in Kisumu's hot equatorial sun. "I don't see how McCain would come here."
Police have tightened security as family, friends, well-wishers and hordes of local and foreign journalists descend on Kogelo, the tiny village about an hour northwest of Kisumu, where Obama's 87-year-old grandmother lives.
Mass prayers for his victory were planned there on Tuesday, and if he wins, his family plans to roast a bull in celebration.
Since 2004 when Obama was running for the Senate in Illinois, the Harvard-trained lawyer and civil rights activist has enjoyed rock star status in the east African nation.
Born in Hawaii to a white mother from Kansas and a Kenyan father, he is idolised by many the way the Irish saw US President John F. Kennedy in the 1960s as one of their own who succeeded beyond their wildest dreams.
US election fever has swept Kenya as the Democratic hopeful nears the world's most powerful position.
Babies have been named after him, people have drunk "Senator" beer in his honour, pop stars sing his praises and "Obama: The Musical" opened in the capital Nairobi on Sunday.
"Obama-mania! Obama-mania!" one Kisumu shoe-shiner shouted at passing customers in the busy town centre.
Many Africans hope his victory would mean more U.S. support for local development projects and an improvement in living conditions for the majority on the world's poorest continent.
But analysts have warned that Obama will be able to do little to bring tangible benefits to Africa, and that he does not have a strong track record of interest in the continent.
"My brother may not directly influence the development in the village," half-brother Abongo Malik Obama said.
"But there are things that he stands for, and it is the people who believe in those things who will make moves to improve living standards," he told reporters in Kogelo.
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Submitted by mwah2008Posted November 05, 2008 10:18 AM
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Submitted by aquinouk
Obamas Kenyan family just like many kenyan people who like to rap where they didn't sow. Now he is famous they call him their own. when he had nothing, they never did anything for them. Shame on you all.
Posted November 05, 2008 03:42 AM -
Submitted by amsams
Obama's kind taking pride in their relative is nothing to be ashamed about, except that they ignored him as a child and are just profiting from his celebrity status. His father may be Kenyan, but no Kenyan relative offered to take care of the boy when his father abandoned the family. Family in America is more than just bloodlines or tribal affiliation; it is also what you do for your family members. American identity is more than just black/white, just as Obama is not just black or white.
Posted November 05, 2008 01:17 AM -
Submitted by pjuma
Anakanim, Paolo: Obama's kin taking pride in their relative is nothing to be ashamed about. Win or lose Obama has left a mark in the world history - and posing for photos is nothing backwards, you have a backward mentality.
Posted November 04, 2008 10:28 PM -
Submitted by anakanim
My Brothers in Kisumu, Just don't burn Kisumu again. Work for yourself like Obama, stop wasting time. Obama will do nothing for you if you don't work. He might do something for the grandmother i hope
Posted November 04, 2008 05:44 PM
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aquinok, amsams and pjuma, i could never agree you more. what we are displaying is a little bit shameful. rarely has he mentioned the influence of his father's side of the family. simply because, there is not much to talk about. they were not very much present in his past. they are however, still part of him, at least genetically. i hope aside from the pride that he is kenyan, we will stop hoping he will bring the change we need in this country. it is us who can do that, not the president of the usa.