BY MAINA WARURU
While a lot of black people in Africa and around the
world are celebrating US senator Barrack Obama’s
victories in the race for Democratic party
presidential ticket, in his country o origin Kenya not
everyone is in agreement.

In ethnically charged and divided Kenya, some people
are praying that his recent victories in the primaries
does not translate into a win of his party’s ticket
and eventually his rise into presidency.

The reason, Kenya being what it is opponents fear his
rise into presidency would mean a Luo( his father was
a Luo by tribe) ruling the most powerful country in
the world and fear this would boost his community in
local politics.

Those opposed to his ascension mainly the Kikuyu fear
Barrack would ride roughshod on Kenya force a Luo
presidency on Kenya and perhaps remove Mwai Kibaki a
Kikuyu in favour of Raila Odinga a Luo like Obama by
means either military or political.

These fears and sentiments have been worsened by the
violence that almost tore the E.African country apart
in a fiercely contested poll pitting Kibaki against
Odinga , 2 men who belong to Kenya’s biggest
communities.

This recent picture contrasts a past scenario when the
Illinois senator was elected first black senator in
the US history.Then unlike now everyone in Kenya was
excited and no one had at the time cared to give Obama
a tribal tag.

Obama’s father the late Hussein Obama was born in
Kenya’s Nyanza province village of Kogelo where his
grandmother Susan still lives .

Matters started taking a new turn compromising support
for Barrack among all Kenyans when he visited Kenya in
2006.

Besides paying his grandmother a visit, the first
since becoming a senator he met president Kibaki and
Odinga and addressed a gathering at the university of
Nairobi.

At the gathering he chided the Kibaki government for
failing to meet post 2003 polls pledges, returning the
country to the dangerous path of tribalism many
thought had been buried in 2003 and for generally
backpedalling in the war on corruption.

The attack did not down well with Kibaki supporters
many them Kikuyus who interpreted to mean an onslaught
by Obama and support for Odinga, a man who had then
fallen out with the president.

Kenya had just come out o a constitution referendum in
which the opposition led by Odinga had resoundingly
defeated the Kibaki side to reject the proposed draft.

As such divisions, once again along tribal lines were
rife and many on the government and Kibaki side
started viewing the US senator with suspicion.

His recent victories could not have come at worse time
when Kenya was sharply divided along ethic lines that
threatened to tear the country into 2, and resulting
in displaced of some 350,000 and death o more than
1,000 others.

It was during the same period that the US through
president Bush Himself, state secretary Condoleezza
Rice and under secretary for African affairs Jedayi
Frazer , were pushing Kibaki into agreeing to a power
sharing deal with Odinga, something many of Kibaki’s
tribesmen did not like.


The deal was anyway signed and many think America was
behind it fuelling suspicions even further among the
Kikuyu that the world’s only super power was against
Kibaki and is government and so as Obama.

Some even thought that Obama played a major role
behind scenes to help a tribesman in this case Odinga,
never mind that the latter is unaccustomed to tribal
politics having never lived in Kenya .

As such in Kenyan bars and other social places many
Kikuyu will analyze Obama’s performance in the on
going primaries with a tooth comb, hoping and praying
to God that he does not win over Clinton and worse
still live to become US president .

In villages in central Kenya , it is not a wonder for
to visit from the city only to be met by old men
wanting to know what impact an Obama victory would
have on Kenya, Kibaki and Odinga.

“ Would Obama overthrow Kibaki, would he install
Odinga as president, would he ensure that only Luos
will rule Kenya, will Kenya become an extension,
satellite state of United Sates?.

This to them would mean Luo president of the US
greatly boosting a rival community in the race or
supremacy in Kenyan politics .

This altitude is running counter to views of majority
of Kenyans who are excited by every victory by the US
democrat frontrunner and are praying day and night for
more victories for this “son of Kenya”.

In Nyanza western Kenya birth place villagers have
been holding nightlong vigils anytime there is a
primary crossing fingers and asking the almighty to
shower their so with blessings.

These events have thrust far off US politics into
Kenyan villages and intertwined US and Kenyan politics
together never mind they are as different as daytime
is from night.

ends