Former U.S. President Barack Obama returned to Kenya Sunday and Monday — the first time since his time in office as president — to support his half-sister Auma Obama’s nonprofit’s launch of a sports complex.
The sports center is aimed at serving children that come from rough regions, The Associated Press reported.
Former President Barack Obama visits with family members in Kenya, and meets with local children and officials for the launch of a sports and training center founded by his half-sister, Auma Obama. pic.twitter.com/PszXuJJh1l
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Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta and the country’s opposition leader Raila Odinga met with Obama to kick off his African trip, according to the Washington Post.
Obama is adored in Kenya and considered a “favored son,” the Washington Post reported, and arguably more popular than some of Kenya’s own politicians. (RELATED: Obama Snubs His Half Brother On Kenya Trip)
His visit was spent in friendly, diplomatic fashion, including dancing with natives, speaking local languages, and playing basketball, a pastime which he is known to enjoy, according to WaPo. However, his extended family members and those who claim to be his family members pressed that they wish he’d go further in reestablishing his Kenyan ethnic roots.
“We want him to come and sit by our fire to chat. We want him to eat his grandmother’s fish stew. We want his daughters to bathe in our rivers. We want him to build a homestead here,” said professor Gilbert Ogutu, an elder from the same ethnic group Obama’s father belonged to, according to WaPo. “But that won’t happen. We have to be realistic, too.”
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