Barack Obama’s sister Auma Obama gets jiggy with 'musolo' in Kitui

US President Barack Obama’s sister, Dr Auma Obama made a remarkable public appearance in Kitui County unimpeded by her security detail, dancing away to traditional Kamba music.

Sporting her trademark braids and modestly clad in a sleeveless dark dress, Auma to the delight of her admirers, sprung out of her seat several times to join her host, Kitui First Lady Mrs Edith Malombe in jigs and gyrations with dancing troupes, among them the colourful Kyanika Adult Women Group.

Ululations and clapping from an awed audience filled the air. 

Auma was all smiles as she took it in her stride to master the calculated movements and whirls that go with musolo and other traditional Kamba hops that heralded the official launch of Kyeni Foundation and Kitui County Family Planning strategy, the brainchild of Malombe that she graced as guest of honour at the Ithookwe Show Ground. Kyeni is Kamba word for light.

She would say later to wild cheers and laughter from the doting throng: “I hope I did not disappoint. Our Luo traditional dances also involve the quivering of shoulders, the waist and backsides. Shaking of legs was rather tricky, but I quickly fell in step.

Exuding humour, a cheerful Auma said she relishes dancing that she described as a tonic against stress. “One is never too old or too busy to dance,” she said to applause.

The ceremony peaked with Auma being dressed in customary attire that saw her shrouded in gaudy Kamba tunic complete with traditional beads and nthungi (traditional shopping basket wrought out of sisal fibre) to give her the perfect figure of a revered Kamba woman.

 An established author and patron of the Story Moja festival, a vibrant gathering of great minds in Kenya and beyond, Auma said her conscience would not allow her to be silent on the falling education standards in Kenya that was impacting negatively for the youth in the employment market. 

“High standards that used to be enjoyed by Kenyans have plummeted in the wake of a commercialized education system that rolls out quantity at the expense of quality,” regretted Auma, not sparing parents whom she accused of not inculcating the culture of reading.

“Parents are the first role models for their children, yet in Kenya today they stop reading the moment they are through with examinations. Reading ought not to be for examinations only, but also for pleasure. It is reading for pleasure that augments knowledge and makes a difference.”