Kenyans in US express optimism, anxiety

President Uhuru Kenyatta joins the youth in a dance when he met with the Kenyan diaspora in the USA at a hotel in Washington DC. PHOTO | PSCU

What you need to know:

  • Mr Sam Mweberi, a Kenyan-born financial analyst based in Wilmington, said the end of the Obama presidency was truly the end of an era.
  • Ms Njogu, an immigration lawyer based in Maryland, said that President Obama and his wife Michelle have conducted the affairs of the country and represented the White House with grace, dignity, humility and inclusiveness.

IN WASHINGTON, DC

For a majority of Kenyans living in the US who have lived through the Obama presidency for the last eight years, the swearing-in ceremony that ushered in Donald J. Trump as the 45th President of the United States at the stroke of mid-day Friday was a moment filled with pride and anxiety.

To many, it was a moment of pride because, by all accounts, President Barack Obama, whom they consider their compatriot because his father was Kenyan, is already being considered as one of the best presidents. 

Watching the proceedings just hours before the official transfer of power at Lincoln Memorial, in Washington, DC, Kenyan-born American attorney Regina Njogu said: “It is bittersweet watching Obama exit the stage. It is with anxiety and cautious optimism that I watch Trump enter the scene”.

Ms Njogu, an immigration lawyer based in Maryland, said that President Obama and his wife Michelle have conducted the affairs of the country and represented the White House with nothing but grace, dignity, humility and inclusiveness.

She said it broke her heart when she watched seven- and eight-year-olds on TV say that they were scared about Donald Trump being President. 

“The fear is justified. To Trump, immigrants, gays, blacks, Muslims are outliers. It’s as if we are paying back for the optimism we felt during the last two inaugurations. May God be with us!” she said.

MORE DIVIDED COUNTRY

According to businessman David Amakobe of Middletown, Delaware, even though Obama is moving off the main stage with a seemingly more divided country and world with deep underlying tensions between groups, races and religions, his high approval rating standing at 60 per cent is a clear statement to his leadership.

Mr Sam Mweberi, a Kenyan-born financial analyst based in Wilmington, Delaware, said the end of the Obama presidency was truly the end of an era.

“I’m so glad that not only was he my best President but that I had an opportunity to volunteer in his campaigns. I feel proud that I took part in something historic and worthwhile,” said Mr Mweberi from Nyamira County where he unsuccessfully ran for Senate in the last election.  

Kenyan-born musician Miriam Chemmoss wrote on her Facebook wall that she had decided not to tune into any live coverage of the inauguration.

But Emmanuel Njogu struck a positive note, saying even though leadership defines direction of the country, he believed America was greater than a single leader and that the voice of the people is bound to prevail.