海角大神

Call it denial or call it hope,听but听many here don鈥檛 believe President Barack Obama will come to Kenya without paying a visit to his 鈥渉omeland鈥� in the country鈥檚 west.听

On Radio Lake Victoria鈥檚 morning call-in show, listeners were still musing early this week about how President Obama would travel to the area. Would he use their poor roads and see how neglected this region is? Can the local airport accommodate Air Force One? Is there a place in Kogelo where a helicopter can land?听

Anticipation has been high in Kisumu, Kenya鈥檚 third largest city and the heartland of the Luo tribe on the eastern flank of Lake Victoria. And nowhere is the excitement more apparent than on the call-in shows that dominate Radio Lake Victoria鈥檚 airwaves.听

As one of the region鈥檚 main sources of news,听the station has been deluged with calls and comments since Obama鈥檚 visit was announced in听March,听leaving the show hosts struggling to get in a conversation on anything else.听Callers听have asked for less music and more Obama talk. Even during shows on totally different topics, one of every three comments sent in by text is about him, station host Fred Gombe says.

Obama鈥檚 Luo father was raised in Kogelo, an hour outside of Kisumu, and his step-grandmother, known nationwide as 鈥淢ama Sarah,鈥� still lives there (an earlier version of this story identified her as his grandmother).听Obama retraced Barrack Hussein Obama Sr.鈥檚 steps in a journey encapsulated in his book 鈥淒reams of my Father鈥� in 1988, and has made his Kenyan roots part of his own American dream story. He again visited in 2006 as a senator.

But locals here have yet to welcome him in his role as the American president after almost seven years and three sub-Saharan Africa trips that left Kenya off the list. So when US Ambassador to Kenya Bob Godec said that there wasn鈥檛 enough time for Obama to visit anywhere outside the capital 鈥� where he is chairing the听Global Entrepreneurship Summit 鈥� the region听was stunned.

鈥淗ow sure are you that he鈥檚 not coming?鈥� quips Willis Opio Otondi, the chairman of the local Council of Elders, when asked if he鈥檒l travel to Nairobi to see Obama instead. 鈥淗e has to come to Kisumu and Kogelo to really come home.鈥�

The reactions range from Mr. Otondi鈥檚 playful denial to despair.

鈥淚s this true? Is Obama really not coming?鈥� a middle-aged man calling听in to Mr. Gombe鈥檚 call-in show on Radio Lake Victoria听asked, bursting into tears.听Several more called that day to听console him, insisting Obama wouldn鈥檛 disappoint them.听In the last couple weeks, Gombe says, he鈥檚 also heard threats of demonstrations, and even suicide if the leader doesn鈥檛 come.

The devotion is about more than Obama鈥檚 roots with the Luos, Kenya鈥檚 third largest ethnic group and a political bloc that has perpetually been relegated to the sidelines or opposition. In Kenya, development projects are dished out to the winners first, as seen in previous administrations. So decades of being also-rans have taken their toll on Luo areas of Kenya 鈥� and their psyche.

Obama鈥檚 success has highlighted their own unfulfilled political dreams, and a visit by him speaks to their own desires of winning Kenya鈥檚 top political position.

鈥淥bama coming at this time would change a lot of fortunes of the Luo nation,鈥� says Walter Akeche, a clergyman at the Power of Jesus Around the World Church near Kogelo, idly lounging on a bench at a bike repair shop in the village鈥檚 market. 鈥淲e鈥檝e had a rough time since independence.鈥�

The rise of two politicians

As Obama鈥檚 campaign of hope and change was coalescing in 2007, Raila Odinga,听the most powerful Luo politician, also looked like he just might finally deliver the presidency in the 2007 election after听44 years of Kenyan independence 鈥撎齛 struggle in which Luos played as pivotal a role as the other ethnic groups who came to dominate politics. At the time, it was not uncommon to see promotional calendars with photos of both Obama and Mr. Odinga.

But when the vote tally was released, President Mwai Kibaki was declared the winner despite many early returns showing听Odinga had the lead,听and widespread allegations of voting irregularities. The dispute triggered ethnic violence that lasted weeks and left more than 1,000 dead.

The refrain in these parts went from the jubilant 鈥淎 Luo in the State House and the White House鈥澨�(the听former听referring to the residence for Kenyan presidents)听to the resigned 鈥淎t least we have a Luo in the White House鈥� as they picked up the pieces 鈥� although there was still an all-night party the night Obama won.

In the years since, Odinga has remained in the opposition, sidelined by a powerful coalition government. In-party fighting among the opposition coalition have also stunted his ambitions. But the sense of grievance persists, periodically inflamed by events like the International Criminal Court鈥檚 dropping of charges in 2014 against President Uhuru Kenyatta for crimes against humanity in connection with the post-election violence.

High expectations

Since听his election in 2008,听Luos听have heaped many of their expectations on Obama instead.

鈥淥bama will get [Kenya] back on track,鈥� says a young man, giving a speech at Kisumu鈥檚 People鈥檚 Parliament, an informal daily gathering under a shady mango tree in the city center.

Men, businessmen and听jua kali听(informal laborers) alike, drop in and talk politics in the local language and listen to impassioned, impromptu speeches given under a picture of Odinga that hangs from the tree.

Speaking the same day that two former US diplomats in Africa published a stern op-ed in The New York Times telling Obama he needed to be tougher on Kenya鈥檚 sitting government 鈥� which received play in every major Kenyan paper 鈥� a young man challenged Obama to address corruption, the ICC charges against Deputy President William Ruto, and a number of other major issues in Kenya today.

The young man confidently criticized Ambassador Godec for 鈥渉andling Kenya with kid gloves,鈥� as if the top US diplomat and Obama didn鈥檛 have the same playbook. 鈥淸Obama] wants to do things differently.鈥�

The demands are much more prosaic, too. In Kogelo, Joseph Okelo, a retired store owner, and several others planned to meet at the home of Mama Sarah, Obama鈥檚 step-grandmother, to come up with a list of things they need from her famous grandson: better roads, more schools, and improved health care.

Mama Sarah, who is reportedly going to travel to Nairobi to see her grandson, is sad Obama is not returning to his ancestral lands. But she understands the reasoning, and has tried to temper expectations. "I take the disappointment with a sense of pride," she says. "Barack came to Kenya to do work."

'Obama is our pride'

For all these reasons, Luos are not yet accepting that Obama will be a no-show. And they hope that bestowing on him the ultimate honor 鈥� membership in the esteemed but largely symbolic Luo Council of Elders 鈥� will bring him home.

Gesturing to his decorated walking stick, an accoutrement for his own position, Otondi, the council chairman, ticks off the gifts they will bestow on Obama for his new status: a three-legged stool that only he can use, a flywhisk, a headpiece, and a traditional garment.

One thing he won鈥檛 receive is the traditional shield, a symbol of strength, because 鈥渉e鈥檚 already won the battle,鈥� Otondi says.

Two other presidents have received the honor: Uganda鈥檚 Yoweri Museveni and Mr. Kibaki, pre-2007 election. But Obama is the first with the winning combination of president and Luo.

鈥淭he Luo are a very proud community, and Obama is our pride,鈥� says Otondi. 鈥淎nywhere in the world, we know that our son is leading the most powerful country in the world.鈥�