Barack Obama’s Kenyan Connection

I expected Obama’s family in Kenya to be keenly following the events surrounding his battle for the Democratic Party presidential nomination. I have even suspected that his family had another motive–other than the profound pride they must have to see a relative in the run for the position as President of the United States–the expectation of some assistance for them and their country. This is the first time, in my memory, that a candidate for the presidency has such direct ties with an African country. I came across an article in my research and it reinforces my position that it is imperative that he be asked about his Kenyan connection and how it would affect his presidency, which would be in a small way.

In the Kenyan village of Kogelo, Obama’s ancestral village in western Kenya, relatives and friends crowded around television sets on Wednesday to watch the results of nominating contests across 24 U.S. states thousands of miles away, according to media reports.”No one can feel bad when something good happens,” said Obama’s grandmother Sarah Anyango Obama. “Obama is American but also Kenyan. If he wins I would want him to help Kenya as well, not just me and not just the village but the whole country and the entire world.” Therein lies the real gist of what I am getting at. What does his family expect him to do for Kenya and how can he do it without the backing of Congress. What if every elected official who had relatives in other countries favored their countries over others? Isn’t that favoritism? What if his Irish relatives from his mother’s side expects something for themselves and Ireland as well?

It is said that Barack Obama, 46, has worked as a civil rights lawyer and law professor. He has said he is “deeply troubled” by violence that has killed 1,000 people since Kenya’s disputed December 27 polls. His Kenyan family hail from the Luo tribe of opposition leader Raila Odinga, who accuses Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki of stealing re-election in a poll that has triggered ethnic bloodshed, especially between the Luo and Kibaki’s Kikuyu tribe.

For what it’s worth, family will be coming out of the woodwork if Obama wins, even relatives he didn’t know existed. I guess if he wins the presidency his family back in Kenya, based on his grandmother’s statements, will think they just hit the lottery!

Filed under: Barack Obama, Kenya, Kogelo, Mwai Kibaki, Odinga, Presidential Elections