KOGELO, Kenya: Paved roads, electricity, running water: Barack Obama’s ancestral home has seen much change in the past four years, and residents are preparing for a sleepless night ahead as they watch the polls.
On the eve of the US presidential elections, reporters have descended on this small village in western Kenya, nestled in the hills about 60km from the glittering blue waters of Lake Victoria.
Draped over the road that connects the village to Kisumu, the main town of the region, a banner offers tickets for an all-night screening of the election.
“Watch the American presidential election 2012 on big screen” the advert reads, and, despite even the cheapest ticket costing some $12 — about a week’s wages for a casual labourer — that has not dampened enthusiasm.
“I’m going to watch the election all night long ... it’s expensive but I’ll manage,” said Mary Manyala Ohito, a health worker.
In the courtyard of the nearby primary school — renamed after Obama following a visit in 2006 when he was a senator — a giant screen will also be set up, with free access for the local residents.
Sarah Obama — 90 this year, and the third wife of the paternal grandfather of Barack Obama — still lives in Kogelo. While the president shares no blood with “Mama Sarah”, he has said he regards her as his grandmother.
Although she has remained cloistered in her home for most of the final hours ahead of the election result, Mama Sarah ventured outside her house for a few minutes to pray for the reelection of her grandson.
“I pray for him, for God to help him,” she said during an improvised press conference at her garden.
“It is a tough race so I have prayed for him. If this is his turn (to win again), God will let him triumph,” she added in her native Dholuo language.
Another family member speaks of the family’s expectations on the outcome of the vote.
“We’ll be staying together with the family watching it together until the result is announced,” said Said Hussein Obama, an uncle of the president. “We expect he’s going to win.”
AFP
