USA TODAY International Edition
Kenya witch doctor says Obama to visit
President has no such stop scheduled; bones say otherwise
President Obama is not officially scheduled to visit his ancestral home when he visits East Africa this week, but witch doctor John Dimo knows better.
After tossing some shells and animal bones on the ground, Dimo said he is convinced the American president will come to this tiny village, home of Mama Sarah Obama, 95, his step- grandmother, and the burial place of Barack Obama Sr., his father.
“The results indicate that Obama will come to Kogelo,” Dimo told a circle of residents this month, and they cheered with excitement at the prospect of a presidential visit. “It’s a big secret, and he need not tell anybody that he will be visiting his ancestral home.”
Dimo said he has a good track record for predicting the future: When Obama visited Kogelo in 2006 as a U. S. senator — before he announced his White House run — Dimo predicted he would someday become president.
“Believe me, I said Obama will become the U. S. president, and it came to pass,” he told onlookers. “Now, I can see he has planned to visit the village. He will come.”
The village’s anticipation is matched by excitement through- out Kenya as it prepares for Obama’s arrival Friday to attend the Global Entrepreneurship Summit in the capital of Nairobi — the first visit of a sitting U. S. president to the country.
Crews are beautifying streets, repairing traffic lights and replacing old signs. Business owners are spiffing up their storefronts and sidewalks.
In Kogelo, about 200 miles northwest of the capital, villagers erected an Obama statue. Offi- cials renovated his father’s grave. Merchants sell Obama T- shirts, jeans and portraits.
“President Obama should find his home clean,” said Janet Atieno, a woman planting flowers at the Kogelo Village Resort hotel in case the president drops by. “We’ve been cleaning the village since the news of his visit was announced.”
Obama is not particularly close with his father’s side of the family — the president’s mother and his father divorced after three years of marriage — but his grandmother said she wanted to see him.
“We’re prepared to host him,” said Sarah Obama — whom the president refers to as “Granny” in his memoir. “It’s a big win to all Kenyans.”
Sarah Obama, who has became a national celebrity in Kenya since her grandson assumed office, said Obama promised he would visit her when she was on a tour of the USA two years ago.
“We had a lengthy discussion with Obama, and he promised me that he will come to Kenya and visit the village,” she said. “He was waiting for the country to gain political stability before he can visit.”
Obama declined to visit Kenya on an African trip in 2013, citing charges against Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta at the International Criminal Court related to violence during an election in 2008. The charges have since been dropped, and Obama is slated to meet Kenyatta.
Gov. Cornel Rasanga, who oversees the region that includes Kogelo, said his office is ready to receive Obama if he visits.
“Believe me, I said Obama will become the U. S. president, and it came to pass. Now, I can see he has planned to visit the village. He will come.” John Dimo