Former American President Barack Obama visited his ancestral home in K’Ogelo for the first time since retiring from the most powerful office in the world. But missing in action were his wife and children.
They also missed feasting on fish and kuon prepared in the home of Obama’s grandmother, Mama Sarah Obama.
The fish was prepared by Lilian Oliech, sister to former Harambee Stars striker Dennis Oliech.
Lilian runs her mother’s Mama Oliech Restaurant in Hurlingham, Nairobi, where Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg ate fish in the company of ICT Cabinet secretary Joe Mucheru in 2016.
Obama though had his fish prepared by Mama Oliech inside his grandmother’s homestead, where only a select few were allowed access.
READ MORE
Normalising abnormalities, the American way, as Trump returns to White House
Obama congratulates Trump on election win over Harris
Obama entered his grandmother’s homestead minus a coat and with sleeves rolled, was served white ugali and tilapia with stew. He ignored apoth, the traditional Luo green vegetables and dug into his dish spending 20 minutes having his fill.
Obama promised to visit Kenya in 2015. But that former first lady Michelle Obama and daughters Malia and Sasha did not tag along got tongues wagging.
Obama’s visit was to open Sauti Kuu Foundation, founded by his half-sister, Dr Auma Obama in Siaya County, where villagers were left wondering whether Michelle was akin to modern urban wives who give rural areas and in-laws a wide berth.
Dr Auma has however, explained that Michelle had a parallel event in Paris, France, forcing her to miss the Kenyan tour, but sent her regards and apologies, and that of her daughter whose college internship coincided with the event.
Dr Auma further added that Obama would have passed the apologies from Michelle but avoided doing so “because he also knew that would have got the spotlight from me. But the most important thing is that Obama and his family was fully behind the project and have supported it.”
Dr Auma also clarified that she was close to President Obama having known each other for long, and they share similar visions and hence the involvement of the Barrack Obama Foundation in youth empowerment and nurturing future leaders which is what Sauti Kuu Foundation also does.
“We joke a lot with my brother and we tell each other a lot of stories. And remember in any family you will always find that some people are closer than others, but that is normal,” she said.
Among the dignitaries accompanying Obama included South African songbird Yvonne Chaka Chaka; Toronto Raptors director, Masai Ujiri; NBA vice president, Amadou Gallo; former US Ambassador to Kenya, Robert Godec; former Safaricom CEO, Michael Joseph and the Ker of Luo Council of Elders, Willys Otondi.
