Five myths about President Obama's visit

President Barack Obama's visit to Kenya at the weekend entailed all the pomp and circumstance that generally accompany the President of the United States abroad. The visit evolved myths. Let's dispense with some.

OBAMA WILL DICTATE UHURU

Kenya might be a strategic partner to the US but in reality, there are few comparisons among the two countries. So, when the world's most powerful man visits a country like Kenya, the host might be deemed by such an influential visitor.
However, President Uhuru Kenyatta was almost an equal partner to his US counterpart Barack Obama. When Obama advocated gay rights, Uhuru stood his ground.

OBAMA WILL NOT MEET DP RUTO

Sections of the Kenyan populace expected Obama would not meet Deputy President William Ruto. This was further exacerbated when Ruto was conspicuously missing in the welcome team at JKIA when Air Force One touched down.

However, the two met on Saturday at State House.

MOBILE NETWORKS WILL BE DISRUPTED

During his speech to selected individuals at the Kasarani Stadium, you could notice that listeners seated a few steps away from the US president were picking up their phone calls as he spoke.

When he attended the opening session of the Global Entrepreneurship Summit, mobile phone networks were still working.

ALL FLIGHTS TO BE CANCELLED

Wherever a US president travels everything is supposed to come to a standstill on the ground, air and sea. The fact is that this statement is not entirely true.
During his visit in Kenya, functions at the country's international airports were disrupted but not for long periods of time. Commercial and local flights continued to fly with minor changes to their schedules.

THE CITY WILL BE AT A GRIDLOCK

Whereas it was expected that the millions of people in Nairobi will be inconvenienced as a result of closing of major roads, this did not come to be.

During his three-day visit, the roads were smooth with traffic snarl ups much less than during the normal day in Nairobi. This might largely be due to the fact that a number of people opted to keep away from the city.