US Ambassador, Mr Michael Ranneberger, said Obama’s win would have tremendous impact on Kenya.

Kenyans have welcomed Senator Barack Obama’s nomination as the Democratic Party candidate for the November US presidential elections.

Proud Grandma: Mama Sarah Obama and one of her grandsons, Mr. Wycliffe Omondi read The Standard at her Kogelo village home, Siaya District, Kenya on Thursday. Mama Sarah is the grandmother of Senator Barack Obama. Picture by Titus Munala.

Congratulatory messages continued to pour to The Standard newsroom from Kisumu, Nairobi, Mombasa, Garissa and even Moyale, with Kenyans wishing the Illinois senator the ultimate victory in the November election.

President Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga were not left behind. In a statement from Arusha, President Kibaki congratulated Obama, saying the victory was a manifestation of the faith and confidence the Democratic membership had in his leadership.

On his part, Prime Minister Raila Odinga said Obama’s victory was a momentous occasion in history.

“Barack Obama’s success will inspire us all to break the shackles of ethnic preoccupations in determining political leadership,” Raila said in a statement by his spokesman, Mr. Salim Lone.

Obama’s grandmother, Mama Sarah, 86, led villagers of Alego Kogelo, Siaya, where the senator’s father — Barack Obama Senior — was born, in thanking American voters for no,inating her grandchild.

At the home of Obama’s father, relatives, neighbours and students celebrated the triumph, whose campaign now promises to capture the psyche of Kenya in the run up to the presidential elections.

Obama’s Kenyan Kin Celebrate

   Barack Obama speaks to residents of Nairobi’s Kibera area,
   Kenya, in August 2006.

   Obama and Kenyan Grandmother (Mama Sarah)… Earlier Visit

   Kenya Flag

   Obama and Kenyan Relatives … Earlier Visit

Mama Sarah spent most of on Wednesday morning talking on the telephone to her relatives in America, UK and South Africa about Obama’s victory against Mrs. Hillary Clinton in the hotly contested primaries.

“I will travel to America to witness his swearing in because I know he will win. But I will not stay in the country for long,” she said.

Vice-President, Mr Kalonzo Musyoka, hailed the victory as historic, saying Obama had won the nomination with dignity.

“Indeed, he may make history as the first American president with African roots,” said Kalonzo in Nairobi.

US Ambassador, Mr Michael Ranneberger, said Obama’s win would have tremendous impact on Kenya.

“Over 350,000 Kenyans live in the US, with another 7,000 traveling there annually, which explains the great interest in the race,” Ranneberger said.

Back at Obama’s father’s home in Siaya, residents basked in international glare as CNN led other international media teams in airing to the world live the joy of the village.

   Barack Obama Jr. / Barack Obama Sr.
CNN was live at Alego Kogelo at 10am, showing villagers holding bottles of ‘Senator’ beer to celebrate the Illinois Senator’s win.

Journalists, armed with sophisticated satellite equipment, began arriving at the sleepy village from as early as 6am on Wednesday.

Many installed their equipment at the home as they waited for permission from the family to interview the senator’s grandmother.

Other international media at the home included BBC, Reuters and Al Jazeera.

However, the media had to wait for more than two hours before they could get access to Mama Sarah, who has become the biggest local celebrity.

The number of people claiming to be related to Obama also increased as the news of his victory filtered into Nyanza.

More ‘relatives’ show up

Mr. Tom Ombaka, a Kisumu businessman, said: “Everyone now claims he or she is a cousin of the senator. I have met more than ten people this morning who tell me they are Obama’s blood relations.”

Amid song and dance, Mama Sarah announced she was preparing for an epic journey to America to witness the swearing in ceremony of her grandson as the country’s first black president.

She said: “I will go there to witness the swearing in ceremony, and to pray for him, his family and the people of America for demonstrating unity and love beyond race and colour by picking a black person to lead them.”

She went on: “I love Africa. I am too old now and America is too cold for me to settle. So I will only be visiting once in a while if I am still alive by God’s will.

“I was highly elated when his sister, Rita Auma Obama, in South Africa phoned me to break the news. I said glory be to God,” she said, beaming with joy as she greeted the journalists.

She quipped: “I know what brings you here this early. But don’t worry, feel welcome. I will attend to your needs,” she said as she ushered in visitors to her compound.

“I had prophesied that Obama would win and my dream has partially come true. I am sure he will also win the final contest, God willing. This is my honest and humble prayers,” she said.

She said of her grandson: “His father loved people, development and education. These are the traits that Obama inherited and I can assure you he will go far.”

At the nearby Senator Barack Obama-Kogello Secondary School, which neighbours Mama Sarah’s home, students danced, sang and shouted: “Obama Juu! Obama Juu!”

The school principal, Ms Yunita Obiero, said she announced the good news to the students at assembly in the morning after hearing of Obama’s victory on BBC’s Swahili Service radio.

In Nairobi, ODM congratulated Obama for clinching the Democratic presidential nominations. Secretary-General, Prof Anyang’ Nyong’o, said the primaries were free and fair and Obama won convincingly.

“His global leadership is cut out for him,” said Nyong’o, who is also the Medical Services minister.

Win-win situation

Lands minister, Mr. James Orengo, said the Obama victory was a win-win situation for Kenya and US. “The US electoral process offers a rare opportunity for men and women of good character. Any Kenyan should, therefore, be able to win nomination locally irrespective of gender, tribe, race or religion,” Orengo said.

Previous Visit To Kenya

In Mombasa, the Council of Imams and Preachers of Kenya Organising Secretary, Sheikh Mohamed Khalifa, urged Obama to stick to his manifesto which has earned him wide support and to steer away from US President George W’ Bush’s “confrontational policies”.

“Apart from being close to Africa, we expect Obama to move away from confrontational policies and unite the US and the rest of the world if he finally wins the presidency,” Khalifa said.

ODM-Kenya nominated MP, Ms Shakila Abdalla, said Obama’s victory was an achievement for Kenyans and Africa.

“Because Obama has roots in Kenya, we expect the US and Kenya to forge close ties. We are praying for his victory in the presidential poll,” Shakila said.

And North Eastern Province on Wednesday took delight in Obama’s victory. The predominantly Muslim province came to the limelight during the primaries early this year when Obama’s rival, Mrs Hillary Clinton’s campaign team circulated pictures on the Internet of Obama in Somali traditional attire taken in Wajir.

An elder, Mr Mohammed Hassan Mumin, who was photographed dressing Obama during the senator’s visit to Wajir, said they were happy that Obama was a step away from the presidency.

Mr Maalim Hussein, a teacher at a Quranic school in Garissa, said: “He was a victim of smear campaigns from the Clintons for embracing our attire, but we kept praying for his success and we are celebrating today.”

He added: “We also pray that he becomes the next US president so that he can help our impoverished province and Africa.”

Mr Christopher Njoroge, who lives in Washington, Seattle, said on the telephone: “This is great victory. It is victory for all America that wants real change.”

And from Des Moines, Iowa, Ms Nancy Mwirotsi, a key Obama supporter and mobiliser in a State that gave Obama his first victory, shed tears.

“For me, Obama’s victory is not just about himself and his family, it is about many young Kenyans here who look up to him as their role model,” she said.

Support Senator Obama, visit BarackObama.com

By KAMAU NGOTHO

Like with politics, espionage knows no permanent friends or enemies, only the convergence of interests.

Libyan leader Col. Muammar Gaddafi.
Said to be the second oldest profession, at times it appears to have even lesser morals than the first.

No surprise that when relationship between Nairobi and Washington were at the ice cold, it was still business as usual for legendary Kenyan spy chief James Kanyotu and the Central Intelligence Agency of the United States.

Early one morning in February 1991, Mr Kanyotu found himself with a difficult assignment. His friends in the CIA had called with an urgent and unusual request.

Dissidents

They had with them 600 Libyan dissidents they wanted sequestered in Kenya before they could be flown to a safe haven out of the reach of mercurial Libyan leader, Col Muammar Gaddafi.

The dissidents had been spirited out of Libya in a daring secret move and first flown to the then Zaire, now Democratic Republic of Congo.

But the CIA was not confident that Zaire was a safe haven.

The country’s dictator, Marshal Mobutu Sese Seko was a US ally and had himself come to power in the 1960s as a CIA protégé.

But the Americans considered him unstable, unreliable and unpredictable.

His avarice and love of money was legendary, and it would not be beyond him to cut a deal with Col Gaddafi and turn over the dissidents in exchange for handsome sums wired to his numerous Swiss bank accounts.

The Americans wanted their charges out of Congo speedily, and Kenya seemed like the best choice.

But there was one problem. President Moi at that time had no time for the US.

Kenya was in the throes of the multi-party campaign and the US had come out strongly in favour of the push for democratisation.

Mr Moi was particularly irked by President George Bush’s ambassador in Kenya, the outspoken Smith Hempstone, who consorted openly with and supported the growing opposition of the day and had been dismissed as the Nyama Choma (roasted meat) ambassador.

An approach through Mr Hempstone would not work, for Moi would have loved nothing better than to tell the envoy to ‘shove it.’

A direct approach from Washington, either through the Secretary of State or the President himself, was also considered but none wanted to chance reaching Moi when in one of his foul moods and risk a humiliating rejection.

So the CIA turned to Mr Kanyotu to soften President Moi for them. It was a difficult assignment on two grounds. First of course was Mr Moi’s growing anger with the United States.

Then there was the security risk for Kenya in crossing Mr Gaddafi, who might find a soft target on which to hit back at the US.

The Libyan leader by then was on the American list of unfriendly regimes.

He was fiercely anti-American, and was accused of financing Middle Eastern terrorist groups that were increasingly aiming at targets in the West.

The Libyans at the time were also moving aggressively to position themselves in sub-saharan Africa, unlike many other North African countries, which viewed themselves primarily as members of the Arab world.

That was where Mr Kanyottu found the chink in President Moi’s armour.

Libyan interests in the region had in the past few years been viewed suspiciously by Kenya, which was alarmed by the countries seeming support for dissident movements.

From the early 1980, the Libyan embassy on Loita Street had become a popular calling place for radial student activists from nearby University of Nairobi.

Usually it was to pick up freebies in the form of Mr Gaddafi’s writings, including his famous Green Book, and other literature and posters on Libyan and on the Palestinian cause.

Mr Kanyotu’s agents kept a close watch around the embassy, paying particular attention to student leaders whom they thought might be tempted into going beyond mere infatuation with Gaddafi and enlisting into something sinister.

Libya at the time already had a strong presence in neighbouring Uganda, which under President Yoweri Museveni had become the favoured transit point for Kenyan dissidents fleeing the country for exile in Europe.

By early 1991, Kenya had already severed diplomatic relations with Tripoli after accusing the northern African country of sponsoring anti-Moi elements.

Some student leaders at the University of Nairobi had also been arrested and charged with espionage for allegedly spying for Libya.

Even without the Libyan link, President Moi at time viewed President Museveni as a dangerous radical all too keen to spread his ideology across the region.

Kenya and Uganda had engaged in a brief shooting war across the common border only a few years previously, and still regarded each other with deep suspicion.

With all the information at his fingertips, Mr Kanyotu was able to convince President Moi that the real threat lay not in US support for the multi-party campaign in Kenya, but in Libyan support for dissidents who might want to forment a revolution via neighbouring Uganda.

Mr Kanyotu thought, Moi — even for ego purposes only — would relish the moment to show both Col Gaddafi and Mr Museveni who was boss in the region. Mr Moi gave his nod, and working under the strictest security, Mr Kanyotu’s men and the CIA hurriedly constructed a camp to hold the Libyans at a remote point off the Thika-Garissa highway. Within a week, a makeshift barracks was in place complete with a borehole and a fully-equipped dispensary.

To throw off-scent any nosy characters, signposts were erected purporting that American peace-corps were coming to help sink boreholes in the remote reaches of Mwingi District.

On D-Day, Mr Kanyotu joined the CIA team at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport shortly after midnight. Also present was Mr Hempstone.

As Nairobi slept, two US Air Force jets taxied at the far end of the apron. Unmarked buses from the Kenya Army were in place to transport the delicate human cargo.

Before dawn, the Libyan exiles were sound asleep in their new, but temporary, Kenyan home.

Mr Gaddafi, probably through Ugandan and Soviet intelligence sources in Nairobi, soon came to learn about the presence of Libyans dissidents in Kenya.

He was furious, and immediately set about planning how to retaliate.

Commando squad

A Libyan commando force assembled near the Entebbe Airport in Uganda, ready to strike once the exact location of the secret camp holding Libyan dissidents in Kenya was established.

Gaddafi’s first option was lightning air strike to bomb the camp and kill as many of the residents as possible.

The other was to bring in a commando squad by land, raid the place and capture some of the dissidents.

To keep him off-scent, Mr Kanyotu and the CIA put up several decoys that kept the Libyan intelligence operatives on a wild goose chase.

Meanwhile, the Americans found a permanent refuge for the dissidents, and before the Libyan forces could strike they were secretly flown out of Kenya under cover of darkness.

After ranting and raving for a period, Mr Gaddafi concluded the Kenyan leader was no pushover and offered to make peace.