Politicians humbled at Obama public function

Barack Obama speaks to Kenyans at Safaricom indoor arena, Kasarani. (Photo:Jacob Otieno/Standard)

Majority of senators and governors who had been invited to Kasarani arrived there in a bus while MPs walked there from Safari Park Hotel, where they had parked their vehicles.

The leaders, who are used to VIP treatment, also all queued and went through security checks before they were let into the Safaricom Indoor Arena at Kasarani Stadium.

For the first time in Kenya, the President, his deputy, Cabinet secretaries and other leaders were made to arrive at a function early, sit and wait for the guest, listen to what the guest had to say, and then walk away without a single word to the crowd. That was humbling.

Unlike what has become the norm during public meetings where politicians take to the podium and tear into each other, this time only Auma Obama and the US President spoke. Auma is sister to the US president.

Although the event was not a State function, all top State officers were present. Politicians also graced the event, among them CORD leader Raila Odinga.

God's name

In the 41 minutes that Obama spoke, he invoked God's name at least two times. The first time was when he was emphasising the need for equality in the distribution of State resources.

"Today, a young child in Nyanza Province is four times more likely to die than a child in Central Province even though they are equal in dignity and the eyes of God. That's a gap that has to be closed," said Obama.

Curiously, the US president did not seem to be aware that we abolished provinces and replaced them with counties. Nevertheless, the point was made.

The second time he mentioned "God" was when he was telling Kenyans what they know, but which they ignore for political expediency – the need for unity.

"We're all part of one tribe... the human tribe. And no matter who we are, or where we come from, or what we look like, or who we love, or what God we worship, we're connected. Our fates are bound up with one another," he said amid cheers.