Although this trip is a sort of homecoming for Obama, whose father was born in Kenya, and a celebrated occasion as this is the 50th country he has visited as president, it’s a trip marked by certain tensions.
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Homophobia is on the rise in Africa, and espousing evangelical Christian values is a major vote victor in many countries.
The U.S. president has been seeking to strengthen business ties with a continent that is home to some of the world’s fastest growing economies.
Kenyan Vice President William Ruto, whose ICC trial continues, is also vocally homophobic and recently described gays as “dirty”.
Obama is speaking in a joint news conference in Nairobi with Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta.
But, when Obama spoke on gay rights, he said discriminating against people for their sexual orientation eroded freedoms. Like many African nations, Kenya outlaws homosexuality.
At a press conference before Mr Obama and his counterpart, Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta, held closed-door talks, the US leader said the two countries must work together more closely to combat the Al-Shabaab.
Kenyatta replied by repeating the view that gay rights were “a non-issue”.
“There are some things that we must admit we don’t share – our culture, our societies don’t accept”, Kenyatta said in response. He denies them. Kenyatta faced similar charges, but they have been dropped.
President Barack Obama is warning that corruption may be the biggest impediment to Kenya’s growth and opportunities in the future.
“Africa is on the move”. Obama heralded Africa as a continent “on the mo…”
He foreshadowed a focus on Kenya in his post-White House life, saying, “I’ll be back”.
He told delegates governments had to establish the rule of law and tackle corruption.
Aside from gay rights, Obama and Kenyatta echoed one another’s commitment to several shared policies and nation-building initiatives throughout the visit.
President Obama heads next to Ethiopia, where he’ll become the first U.S. president to address the African Union.
Earlier Obama laid a wreath at the memorial site of the former US embassy destroyed in an al-Qaeda attack in 1998, standing in silence in memory of the 224 killed in the twin bombings in Nairobi and Tanzania. Two years after its launch, the program has yet to turn on any lights. In April, gunmen attacked a university in Kenya’s northeast near the Somali border, killing 148 people. Friday night, the president hugged his half-sister as he arrived at the airport and then dined with dozens of members of his extended family.
“If we can get sub-Saharan Africa to be electrified at the same level Asia is – that alone is going to drive economic productivity exponentially”, he said. His Kenyan half-sister, Ms Auma Obama, accompanied him in his armoured limousine, nicknamed “The Beast”.
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Obama says he’s been consistent in pressing the issue when he meets with African leaders.
