page 1 page 2 page 3 page 4 page 5 page 6 page 7 page 8 page 9 page 10 page 11 page 12 page 13 page 14 page 15 page 16 page 17 page 18 page 19 page 20 page 21 page 22 page 23 page 24 page 25 page 26 page 27 page 28 page 29 page 30 page 31 page 32 page 33 page 34 page 35 page 36 page 37 page 38 page 39 page 40 page 41 page 42 page 43 page 44 page 45 page 46 page 47 page 48 page 49 page 50 page 51 page 52 page 53 page 54 page 55 page 56 page 57 page 58 page 59 page 60 page 61 page 62 page 63 page 64 page 65 page 66 page 67 page 68 page 69 page 70 page 71 page 72 page 73 page 74 page 75 page 76 page 77 page 78 page 79 page 80 page 81 page 82 page 83 page 84 page 85 page 86 page 87 page 88 page 89 page 90 page 91 page 92 page 93 page 94 page 95 page 96 page 97 page 98 page 99 page 100 page 101 page 102 page 103 page 104 page 105 page 106 page 107 page 108 page 109 page 110 page 111 page 112 page 113 page 114 page 115 page 116 page 117 page 118 page 119 page 120 page 121 page 122 page 123 page 124 page 125 page 126 page 127 page 128 page 129 page 130 page 131 page 132 page 133 page 134 page 135 page 136 page 137 page 138 page 139 page 140 page 141 page 142 page 143 page 144 page 145 page 146 page 147 page 148 page 149 page 150 page 151 page 152 page 153 page 154 page 155 page 156 page 157 page 158 page 159 page 160 page 161 page 162 page 163 page 164 page 165 page 166 page 167 page 168 page 169 page 170 page 171 page 172 page 173 page 174 page 175 page 176 page 177 page 178 page 179 page 180 page 181 page 182 page 183 page 184 page 185 page 186 page 187 page 188 page 189 page 190 page 191 page 192 page 193 page 194 page 195 page 196
|
msafi ri 58 a senator in 2004, a source of national pride despite the fact that he is an American citizen and has visited the country only three times. A local beer, Senator, was named in his honour. During the lengthy campaigns, Kenyans kept abreast of developments, waking up early to watch the debates, reading up on the issues and America's complex electoral system. A popular joke in Kenya told of a famous American comedian's response on being asked who would win the race: " This guy is from Kenya. Have you ever run a race against a Kenyan and won?" Just after dawn on 5 November 2008, melodious ululations broke out and strangers embraced as Kenya woke up to the news that their son would become " President Obama". In Nyangoma Kogelo, a sleepy village in western Kenya where Obama's father was born and raised, there is a real sense of kinship with him. Many had followed the elections closely, and stayed up watching the results on a TV big screen mounted at the local dispensary. As news went round that their fellow Kogeloan had made it to the White House, celebrations broke out in every home. A crowd of jubilant villagers made their way to his step-grandmother's house to congratulate the family. Sarah Obama, a spry 86- year- old, ran out of her house singing and dancing. Her elation was evident on her wrinkled face and she was no doubt already thinking of the day she would get to congratulate her grandson in person and make him his favourite meal of chapatis! " I was elated. There's no other way to describe it – ' the pinch- me- I'm- dreaming' feeling – and two days later, it's still the truth," says Mary Muange, a young Kenyan mother. " If you look at where this guy has come from, we're saying that you can actually do so much despite the odds. Wow! The adversity he has faced in his life makes it even more awesome that he could overcome that." This sense of wonder and excitement was shared by many other Kenyans; " It was quite inspiring. Looking at the guy's background, as much as he's an American, he was a normal guy and that's quite inspiring and proves that anyone can do it," says David Ndungu, who works for an IT company. OBAMA UNITED KENYANS For Kenyans living in America, it was an especially poignant moment. Cliff Okoth, who has lived there for 13 years, says it proved that even he could strive to achieve greatness in his adopted country. " I just screamed at the top of my lungs in joy that this had actually happened in my lifetime. A Kenyan American was going to occupy the most powerful seat in the world," he says. " For the fi rst time in my 13 years in this country, I felt proud to be a resident of the United States. We overcame one of the greatest visible barriers to life in the United States by electing a black man as president," Mr Okoth says. Obama's win had special signifi cance for Kenyans for another reason. A country still deeply divided by the ethnic animosities which had threatened to tear it apart after the disputed 2007 elections found itself united in a shared passion. Less than a year after more than 1,200 people were killed in the violence, Kenyans from across the political and ethnic divide came together to celebrate Obama's win, a sign that there is more that unites Kenyans than divides them. For Mr Okoth, who had painfully witnessed the chaos in his country from thousands of miles away, this was a small milestone that deserved to be celebrated. " After the great fi asco that was our elections in Kenya a short year ago, this victory served well to bring Kenyans together. This meant a lot to me because for once in a very long time I saw all Kenyans from all walks of life celebrate political victory for the same person regardless of ethnic differences," he says. It is easy to see why Obama's success and message of unity are an inspiration to many in Kenya. Kenyans yearn for exactly the kind of change that Obama represents. ROLE MODEL There are many lessons for Kenya to draw from Obama's victory. Perhaps the most important is that the country must do away with parochial attitudes and ethnic divisions that have stifl ed the country's growth. " It offers hope for young people. To have a 47- year- old as president of the US is quite something. With a few exceptions, in this part of the world we're not used to this. It goes to show that there's hope in young people as well," Mr Ndungu notes. John Kiarie, a young politician who vied unsuccessfully for parliament in the country's last elections, says that Obama's victory proves that Kenya's politics need a " complete shift". " For me, I feel challenged that, in his victory, we all see the ability of one person to capture the imagination of the whole world and show that what people say can't be done, can be done. In Obama's campaign you saw how important the voter was." KJ, as he is popularly known, says. " Obama started from nothing and revolutionised the way one can fundraise for a campaign. When we go out there and tell young people that they can do it, then they will understand that actually it can be done and it has been demonstrated by Obama's campaign," says the young politician, who plans to run for parliament again in 2012. For Mary Muange, Obama's ability to inspire goes beyond the political arena. " We have an endangered species in Kenya in the youth of a certain age especially the men. I think Barack is a great role model for them. I see a lot of young men caught in a cycle of dependency or apathy, and somebody like Obama represents hope. You can dare to dream – that audacity of hope like his book says. Dare to dream and actually do it. Yes you can! Why not?" BEYOND THE DOLLARS Obama takes offi ce at a time when America is facing monumental challenges. An economy on the edge of a recession, two wars, a crumbling healthcare system and a huge budget defi cit are just Joy at Obama win I FELT PROUD TO BE A RESIDENT OF THE US. WE OVERCAME ONE OF THE GREATEST VISIBLE BARRIERS TO LIFE IN THE UNITED STATES BY ELECTING A BLACK MAN AS PRESIDENT Obama special msafiri 59 top: Obama's path to success has kept him grounded below bottom left: Jesse Jackson witnesses this historic election bottom right: fatherly love top: saul loeb/ afp/ GETY; left: emmanuel dunand/ afp/ getty; right: joe raedle/ getty |