Obama in maiden Kenya visit post-presidency

NAIROBI. - Former US President Barack Obama arrived in Kenya Sunday, the country of his father’s birth, his first visit to this East African country since leaving office.

In Nairobi, Obama met President Uhuru Kenyatta at the official residence, according to Kenyatta’s twitter account.

Obama yesterday asked Kenyan leaders to push for equal opportunities as a way of fighting poverty and encouraging resilience.

In a speech he delivered at the launch of a community initiative in Kogelo, Obama said he was encouraged by political developments in the country, especially when opposition leader Raila Odinga reconciled with President Kenyatta. But he added the task ahead was to ensure communities are given equal opportunities for the country to grow.

“There has been real progress in this amazing country. Despite some of the tumultuous times that seem to attend every election, we now have the President and major opposition leader who have pledged to build bridges and made specific commitments to work together,” he said. He added that despite Kenya emerging as a more self-confident and self-reliant country, there is need to address other challenges that remain.

“It means rooting out corruption, it means seeing different ethnicities not as enemies or rivals but as allies, seeing the diversity not as a weakness but as a strength. ‘‘

Obama was speaking during the launch of the Sauti Kuu Resource Centre, founded by his sister Auma Obama to help educate locals about utilising their talent.

Not restricted by protocol this time, Obama repeated remarks he made in 2015 at Kasarani, where he said the progress in Kenya now means fewer Kenyans need to travel abroad or even emigrate to get a good education, which means more youth can have opportunities in the country, if policies are put in place.