Obama acknowledges Kenya visit symbolic
- 5 years ago
His first and best-selling book Dreams from my Father tells of his maiden trip to his father’s homeland of Kenya and Barack Obama says even his victorious return as the first African-American US President is unlikely to rival its significance.
Obama who tells of kneeling and weeping at his father’s graveside in Kogelo in the book, on Wednesday told journalists “visiting Kenya as a private citizen is probably more meaningful to me than visiting as President.”
The reason he gave are the security constraints that come with being President and that it would keep him from fully experiencing Kenya. “The logistics of visiting the place are always tough as President,” he said.
He did however acknowledge the “symbolic” nature of the visit which he said would focus on the gains Kenya has made in the areas of health and education, but not fail to address the challenges of terrorism given, “some of the tragedies that have happened inside of Kenya,” and corruption.
Obama who tells of kneeling and weeping at his father’s graveside in Kogelo in the book, on Wednesday told journalists “visiting Kenya as a private citizen is probably more meaningful to me than visiting as President.”
The reason he gave are the security constraints that come with being President and that it would keep him from fully experiencing Kenya. “The logistics of visiting the place are always tough as President,” he said.
He did however acknowledge the “symbolic” nature of the visit which he said would focus on the gains Kenya has made in the areas of health and education, but not fail to address the challenges of terrorism given, “some of the tragedies that have happened inside of Kenya,” and corruption.