As President Barack Obama visits Kenya - his father's homeland later this week, his maiden visit as president - the sub-Saharan nation is all set to welcome back one of its own.
But for Obama, this visit as president, is likely to diminish the fulfillment of a trip to his father's homeland. "I'll be honest with you, visiting Kenya as a private citizen is probably more meaningful to me than visiting as president because I can actually get outside of a hotel room or a conference center," he said last week, adding that his trip still would be "symbolically important," according to Associated Press.
Obama shall be in Kenya for the 6th Global Entrepreneurship Summit, which he will co-host with Kenya's President Uhuru Kenyatta on July 25 and 26. The summit is expected to be attended by more than 1,500 participants including business leaders from around the world.
The Kenyans have been expecting Obama, who has written and spoken emotionally of his Kenyan roots, to visit ever since he took over office for his second term.
But the political turmoil in Kenya complicated matters. President Kenyatta, who took over office in 2013, faced charges in the International Criminal Court stemming from his alleged role in stoking ethnic violence following the turbulent 2007 elections in Kenya. "The timing was not right for me as the president of the United States to be visiting Kenya when those issues are still being worked on and, hopefully, at some point resolved," Obama had said then of his decision to pass over Kenya during a 2013 trip to Africa.
Those charges against Kenyatta have since been dropped, and Kenya is all set to finally welcome Obama as he visits his father's home country.
According to Manao Esipisu, spokesman for President Uhuru Kenyatta, the Kenyan capital is ready to host the summit, which is happening for the first time in sub-Saharan Africa. At least $500,000 (460,000 euros) has been spent to carry out the face-lift project, which Nairobi residents have dubbed "Obamacare," reports DW.
According to White House Deputy Press Secretary Eric Schultz, "This will be [the] president's fourth trip to sub-Saharan Africa during his presidency." Shultz said the president will hold bilateral meetings in addition to participating in the summit, reports Huffington Post.
It is not known whether Obama will be visiting his family and ancestral village Nyan'goma Kogello.
