KOGELO, Kenya (Jan. 8) - Seated on plastic chairs surrounded by chickens and barefoot children, Barack Obama's Kenyan relatives listened to the radio Tuesday for news of how their favorite son was doing in the New Hampshire primary.
The early results were encouraging, bringing a whoop of satisfaction from the candidate's uncle. "Ah, that's wonderful," Said Obama declared, breaking into a wide grin. "But I don't want to jump just yet."
Results of the New Hampshire voting didn't become clear until well after midnight in Kenya, with Obama finishing a close second to Hillary Clinton. "I am still fired up and ready to go," he told cheering supporters.
Kogelo, the western Kenyan village of Barack Obama's father, has been spared the political and ethnic violence that has erupted in Kenya after last month's disputed presidential election. But it's just 90 minutes' drive from a town where torched and looted buildings bear testimony to the clashes that have left more than 500 people dead, and the turmoil in Kenya, as well as his nephew's political success, were on Said Obama's mind.
While the dispute is political, violence has pitted other tribes — such as the Obamas' Luo — against the Kikuyu of President Mwai Kibaki, who have long dominated politics and the economy in Kenya.
If Barack Obama were in Kenya today, he would "work with the leadership to bring them to a round table and find a solution to the problems that have been ravaging the country," his uncle said.
In fact, Obama's spokesman Robert Gibbs confirmed the senator spoke to opposition leader Raila Odinga for about five minutes Monday before going into a rally in New Hampshire.
Odinga, a Luo, told British Broadcasting Corp. radio that Obama's father was his uncle, and that Obama called him "in the midst of his campaigning ... to express his concern and to say that he is also going to call President Kibaki so that Kibaki agrees to find a negotiated, satisfactory solution to this problem."
Gibbs said Odinga and Obama's father are from the same tribe, though he was not aware they are related.
Obama, speaking Tuesday in New Hampshire, said he urged that "all the leaders there, regardless of their position on the election tell their supporters to stand down, to desist with the violence and resolve in a peaceful way in accordance with Kenyan law."
(https://thebackalleys.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi149.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fs77%2FJWEvans%2F20080108202609990019.jpg&hash=e8854cdc62d3962cba123dbc5a2bbbfa86f94980)
yes