Residents want Obama to visit Tom Mboya grave

Leaders want US President Barrack Obama to pay a special attention to the county when he visits Kenya later this month.

They said Kenya's first Planning Minister Tom Mboya who hailed from the county helped to educate his father, the late Barrack Obama Snr.

Governor Cyprian Awiti said local leaders want President Obama to pay homage to Mboya's mausoleum in Rusinga, even for a few minutes.

He said Obama Snr was among those who benefited from Mr Mboya's education airlifts to the US where he eventually met the President's mother.

Speaking in Rusinga Island at a ceremony to commemorate 46 year's of Mboya's death, Mr Awiti said Obama should have an intimate attachment with the county.

"The President should come and see where the great son of Africa who helped educate his father lies. Mboya was not an ordinary man. He was a hero. He was an icon and a legend," he said.

He said Obama also has relatives in Kanyadhiang, in Karachuonyo sub-county where his father was born before they relocated to Alego Kogelo in Siaya.

"As a government, we are convinced Mboya must never be forgotten. We want his legacy to live on and inspire the many generations to come. This is why we have spent resources to refurbish his mausoleum," he said.