Barack Obama will land in Kenya on Friday with a mission to strengthen U.S. security and economic ties but his return to his father’s birthplace will dominate a trip that Kenyans view as a native son returning home. The U.S president is likely to focus talks in Nairobi on security co-operation. However, he will also spend private time with family members athough he will not travel to the village that is most closely associated with the family name. “Just as anybody is curious about their heritage, visiting Kenya provides him an opportunity to make that personal connection,” Valerie Jarrett, a senior aide and family friend of Obama, said.
My hope is …that we can deliver a message that the U.S. is a strong partner not just for Kenya, but for Sub-Saharan Africa generally
Barack Obama
Kenya is a critical Western ally in the battle against the Somali Islamist group al Shabaab, which massacred 148 people in April at a Kenyan university near the Somali border. Mr Obama is the first sitting U.S. president to go to Kenya or Ethiopia, his second stop on the two-country tour. In Nairobi, he will preside over the Global Entrepreneurship Summit, pay tribute to the victims of the 1998 U.S. embassy bombing and dine with President Uhuru Kenyatta, whose indictment by the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity were dropped in March. In the Kenyan capital, there is an overwhelming security presence, described as “suffocating” by one analyst. Hundreds of American security personnel have arrived in recent weeks and three hotels – the Sankara, Villa Rosa Kempinski and Intercontinental – have been scouted by the Secret Service.