Sleepy Kogelo village transformed overnight

“We can no longer account for who is who in the home — people danced the night away and today’s holiday gave many an opportunity to come to the home,” said Mr Abong’o.

Before Wednesday, the road leading to the homestead was a bumpy path that was a driver’s nightmare whenever it rained. But by Thursday, it had miraculously been cleared and levelled.

Fresh coat of paint

Kenya Power and Lighting Company was expected to have connected electricity by Thursday night. This is a complete contrast to the situation when Mr Obama visited three years ago.

Then, Mama Sarah lived in a semi-permanent house which has since been rebuilt and is sparkling from a fresh coat of paint.

The compound, which was surrounded with indigenous shrubs, has since been fenced and boasts a police post manned 24 hours a day by eight officers.

The police were deployed to the home after thieves tried to steal the family’s solar panel.

Siaya District Commissioner Boaz Cherutich on Thursday said that security had been beefed up to cope with the influx of visitors.

The main road passing through the village to Bondo town, which was until last week no more than a dusty and bumpy path, has undergone major repairs in what Mr Abong’o last week said was just but a sign of things to come.

Not shed light

The family draws water from a well at the corner of the homestead but in the new scheme of things, this is likely to be a thing of the past.

The nearby Nyang’mo Kogelo secondary school acquired the name Senator Obama Secondary School soon after Mr Obama was elected to the US senate.

School officials could not shed light on whether the name would be changing to President Barack Obama High School.

The village has suddenly become the most well known in the Western Kenya region, if not in the world, as visitors come from near and far to see the home and the people from whose lineage came the first African-American president.