Obama: I’m here as a friend who wants Kenya to succeed

Barack Obama told Kenyans on Sunday on his first presidential trip to his father’s homeland that there was “no limit to what you can achieve” but said they had to deepen democracy, tackle corruption and end exclusion based on gender or ethnicity. After political talks on Saturday with President Uhuru Kenyatta on security and business, his speech to a packed sports hall in Nairobi struck a personal note, talking of his own experience and Kenya’s in the five decades since independence. "I’m here as president of a country that sees Kenya as an important partner. I’m here as a friend who wants Kenya to succeed,“ he said, after being introduced by his sister Auma Obama to a crowd of 4,500, many of whom had secured tickets to attend.

When it comes to the people of Kenya, particularly the youth, I believe there is no limit to what you can achieve.

US President Barack Obama

To a mixture of applause and laughter, he described being picked up at the airport on his first visit to Kenya in the 1980s by his sister in an old VW Beetle that often broke down. This time, he arrived on Air Force One and travelled in the president’s armoured car nicknamed "the Beast”. Obama, whose father is buried in western Kenya, wants to boost business ties with Africa, one of the world’s fastest growing regions. “Kenya is on the move, Africa is on the move,” he told the crowd at the sports hall. After Kenya, Obama travels on Sunday to Ethiopia, a nation brought to its knees by famine in the 1980s that now boasts some of the fastest economic growth rates on the continent.

It was awesome. It was really inspiring especially for us young people.

Bramwel Rotich, a 24-year-old student

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