So many things can happen in 28 years. One can rise from a nondescript person to become the most powerful man in the world. This is the story of US President Barack Obama.
When he visited Kenya for the first time in 1988, he was shocked that though he was largely unknown, the name was not strange at all.
He could not understand how an airport worker recognised his last name on his maiden trip to the country of his father's origin.
"My name belonged and so I belonged, drawn into a web of relationships, alliances, and grudges I did not yet understand," Obama wrote in his memoir, 'Dreams From My Father,' about the airport encounter.
Obama had just alighted from a commercial flight, losing his luggage in the process.
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In contrast today, Barack Obama will land at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport as the world's most powerful man. He will arrive aboard Air Force One and on hand to receive him will be top government officials led by President Uhuru Kenyatta.
Unlike back then when he rode in a Volkswagen that got stuck somewhere along Uhuru Highway, he will ride in Cadillac One, nicknamed The Beast, probably the world's safest car in a convoy of vehicles. Escorting him above will be specialised helicopters.
During his first visit, Obama revealed that he once drank chang'aa (a popular gin) in K'Ogelo, while visiting his grandmother. In his memoirs, 'Dreams From My father', Obama says he and his half brother, Roy, went to a chang'aa den where a toast was made in his honour.
"They led us to a wooden table set with an unlabelled bottle of clear liquid and three glasses. The white-haired man (Billy) held up the bottle, then carefully poured what looked like a couple of shots into each glass."
"This is better than whiskey, Barry," Billy said as he lifted his glass. It makes a man very potent. He threw the drink down his throat, and Roy and I followed suit. I felt my chest explode, raining down shrapnel into my stomach."
This time, whatever food and drink will find its way into his mouth will have been checked and verified by a special team that accompanies him.
Obama visited Kenya again in 2006 as the Illinois Senator where he was derogatorily described as a 'junior senator' by the then Government Spokesman Alfred Mutua.
During the visit, he flew to MaAsai Mara where the senior-most government official to receive him was an Officer Commanding Police Division (OCPD) known as Joseph Omijah. They chatted and laughed as they patted one another on the back.
Omijah, the current Msambweni OCPD, is unlikely to get within one foot of his friend. And if he does, it will be under the watchful eyes of the United States Special Forces.
Twenty-eight years later, the 'junior senator' will bring Nairobi to a near standstill. Airspace, and roads will be temporarily closed, AND communication will be interfered with during the time he will be here.
