How excited are Kenyans that Barack Obama stands a good chance of becoming President of the United States? According to this news item from the Kenya Times, people cut out of work and school and partied all day and night after news arrived of Obama’s victory.
Here are a few quotes from this write-through which was published in yesterday’s Kenya Times:
“We as a family are thrilled to be directly related to a man who has not only made a major achievement, but has also made history.”
— Said Obama, Barack Obama’s Uncle
“It’s unbelievable! This shows that Kenya is a great place; a great country. God has blessed this country. Senator Obama is already the next U.S. President.”
— Bishop Beneah Salalah of the Anglican Church of Kenya
“We know he will go ahead and be elected President of the United States. The American citizens have shown that they don’t see race or tribe in someone, but his or her leadership qualities. Africans should learn from this.”
— Kakamega Mayor Joe Serenge
“We are strongly behind him and we urge Americans to go ahead and elect him their President.”
— Kisumu Mayor Sam Okello
ECSTATIC celebration exploded in western Kenya and in most parts of the country, as international broadcasters announced the victory of Illinois Senator Barrack Obama as the presumptive presidential nominee for the Democratic Party ticket.
Senator Obama, the son of Kenyan immigrant Barrack Obama Senior, entered the annals of history as the first African-American to win the nomination of a major party in the United States.
As the news filtered in early yesterday morning, ecstatic and frenzied celebrations rocked Kisumu, Bondo, Kakamega, Eldoret and Mumias towns as residents poured into the streets.
President Mwai Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga sent their congratulations to the Illinois Senator for winning his party’s nomination and running a fantastic campaign.
At Obama’s ancestral home of Kogelo village, security was tight as hundreds of residents of Siaya District and other parts of Western and Nyanza provinces streamed in to congratulate his elated grandmother, Sarah Hussein Obama.
In Nairobi, Mombasa, Nakuru , Nyeri and other urban areas, news spread like a bush fire, with people congregating in small groups to discuss how the country would benefit from an Obama Presidency.
The Kogelo homestead was a carnival of activity as gangs of local and international journalists jostled for interviews with the “who’s who” within the Obama family.
Obama’s grandmother, Mama Sarah, who had left the homestead early in the morning, returned at about 2:30pm to a thunderous welcome from the overjoyed villagers who had thronged her home. Although visibly excited with the latest development, she declined to speak to journalists.
After a two-hour long insistence by journalists, Mama Sarah, through Obama junior’s uncle Said Obama, described the victory as “the beginning of good things to come.”
Mr. Said told reporters: “Mama Sarah is excited with the latest development and only hopes that it’s the beginning of good things to come. She hopes that her grandson will fight all the way to the White House.”
He said the family had remained awake the entore night to monitor the nomination results on the Cable News Network (CNN).
“It’s a dream come true. I remember the last time he was here and he told us about the seriousness with which he had taken to the campaign. We now believe his words,” said Barack’s uncle Said.
READ ON AT WORLDMEETS.US, along with continuing foreign press coverage of the Obama victory and the U.S. election.
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