Comments from Kenya

Mama Sarah Obama

I ran across the Saturday  Nation web site in Kenya today. One article from last October covered the dismissal of the Berg v. Obama lawsuit by Judge Surrick. It’s an informative article, but what fascinated me were the comments. In some ways they parallel what you’d see on a US blog with information and misinformation, but with a distinctly African twist. Some of the posters there thought Berg was black (and therefore not a racist).

Sample:

kamanikiole, just to set the record straight, this Philip Berg is not black, he’s white. That, and his law suit against Obama’s quest for president does not necessarily make Berg a racist. I suspect his action is driven by vindictiveness because Hillary Clinton, whom Berge supported in the primaries, lost. But I agree with your implied sentiment that NAACP membership doesn’t exonerate one of racial prejudice. Last point: the NAACP isn’t an exclusively black association. It’s an association for all people of color.

kenmare69

(I know of no proof that Philip Berg is or ever has been a member of the NAACP.)Berg claimed in an interview to be a Jew and a “life-long member of the NAACP”.

kenmare69

Gathoni, you are missing your chance to become rich and fame. McCain and Palin would really appreciate if you can pass to them the information that Obama was born in Mombassa. He was born in Hawaii. Gathoni, I respect your comments, but I think you are dead wrong on this. Convince me if you can, though.

Hillaryio

Another article was titled: Coming to America, by Sarah Obama. It’s about Barack Obama’s step grandmother, Sarah Obama, and her visit to the Inauguration. It’s a neat story and not what you’d see in a US paper.

Apart from Mama Sarah, other family members of President Obama who travelled to the US for the ceremony included Mama Keziah Obama, Mr Malik Abong’o, Dr Auma Obama, Mr Abo Obama and Mark and Bernard Obama. More than 15 clan members also travelled.

“America is very good but extremely cold. I had to wear very heavy clothing,” she said and in amusement added that for the first time in her life she wore trousers to keep herself warm.

During her stay, she met the president twice, first at the church where he attended a prayer service before inauguration. She chatted happily with her grandson, through an interpreter. “I did not have much to tell him though because he is aware of the task I placed on him to ensure Kogelo, Kenya and the whole world live in peace and development,” she said.

In a rather remarkable Op Ed letter, We are Increasingly Getting Ashamed of being Kenyans the paper laments the lack of a politician in Kenya of Barack Obama’s quality.

Another article, Kogelo awakes to new dawn describes the changes in President Obama’s ancestral village:

The road that connects it to the Kisumu-Bondo Road at Ndori junction is in much better condition, and the homestead of Barack Obama’s extended paternal family –” which has become an almost familiar spot on the world map –” is under 24-hour armed security.

Domestic and foreign tourists have been flocking to Kogelo to see the birthplace of the US president’s father.