Memo from Obama to his Kenyan supporters

Before I forget, there is the issue of visas and immigration to America. I know that most Kenyans, including the hundreds of thousands who live or study in America, are now expecting preferential treatment.

The US citizenship and immigration services are an independent federal department that deals with issues of visa, immigration and citizenship. I have no control over it completely.

The department has assured me that only Sarah, my grandmother, and Auma, my sister, may get preferential treatment. All my other relatives and other Kenyans have to follow the rules. I’m sorry.

When it comes to funding your projects, my hands are even more tied. Our domestic and global spending is approved by Congress. In our annual budget, we always allocate billions of dollars to countries like Egypt and Israel for strategic reasons. Recently, we gave billions to Georgia to rebuild itself after it was invaded by Russia.

Kenya may benefit if it makes certain strategic decisions. We are looking for a base in Africa to build our AfriCom headquarters, and Lamu is one of the likely locations.

In the event that you accept our request, we will make Lamu a deep-sea port and build a railway line from there to Ethiopia, our other strategic ally in the region. The choice again I say is yours.

As for visiting Kenya, it will depend on what my policy advisers say. My relatives will even find it hard now to reach me as my security and programme are in the hands of federal bureaucracy.

But I urge you to instill transparency and accountability in your public systems, more so in the electoral process, political leadership and public appointments.