Residents of Kogelo, Siaya County are high spirits after news that former United States President Barack Obama will be visiting the village next month.
Obama did not tour his ancestral home when he came to Kenya in 2015 as his schedule was tight. Obama traces his roots in Kogelo, where his late father, Barack Hussein Obama, was born.
The Standard reports that delegates from the American embassy in Nairobi have been conducting visits in the last one week to familiarise themselves with the area ahead of Obama’s arrival on July 16th.
Residents who spoke to the Standard on Thursday said a team from the embassy visited the area on Monday. They went to Senator Barrack Obama Secondary School, Mama Sarah Obama’s home and Sauti Kuu Foundation associated with the President’s elder sister Auma Obama.
During the one-day visit, Obama will hold talks with President Kenyatta at State House in Nairobi, before visiting his relatives in Kogelo.
He will then jet to South Africa where he is expected to deliver the annual Nelson Mandela lecture the next day. This will be the first visit to Kenya since he left office on January 20th, 2017.
Obama has visited the country three other times in 1987, 1992 and the high profile visit in 2015. “The visit has been on the cards for the last two weeks. The exact timelines are not yet confirmed but he will visit Kenya en route to South Africa,” said a source.
