This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/jul/24/kenya-obama-family-nairobi-security
The article has changed 4 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Obama's Kenya agenda both personal and political as focus turns to terrorism | Obama's Kenya agenda both personal and political as focus turns to terrorism |
| (34 minutes later) | |
| A little girl in a white dress waited at the bottom of the staircase as the most powerful man in the world returned to Kenya, his ancestral home. | A little girl in a white dress waited at the bottom of the staircase as the most powerful man in the world returned to Kenya, his ancestral home. |
| Joan Wamaitha, an eight-year-old orphan from a local school, was the first person to greet Barack Obama after Air Force One touched down in Nairobi on Friday night. | Joan Wamaitha, an eight-year-old orphan from a local school, was the first person to greet Barack Obama after Air Force One touched down in Nairobi on Friday night. |
| She curtsied and presented him with a bouquet of flowers. The US president warmly hugged her and posed for photos. Only then he did get down to the formalities of meeting Kenya’s president Uhuru Kenyatta before a weekend that includes an international business summit, state dinner and major public address. | She curtsied and presented him with a bouquet of flowers. The US president warmly hugged her and posed for photos. Only then he did get down to the formalities of meeting Kenya’s president Uhuru Kenyatta before a weekend that includes an international business summit, state dinner and major public address. |
| Related: Barack Obama lands in Kenya amid huge security operation | Related: Barack Obama lands in Kenya amid huge security operation |
| The pair moved along a red carpet greeting government ministers and security officials before another emotional moment when Obama embraced his half-sister, Auma. When Obama first visited Kenya in 1987, she picked him up in an old Volkswagen Beetle whose muffler fell off during the drive into Nairobi. This time, he invited her to join him in the back of the presidential limousine, nicknamed “the beast”, which was flying the American and Kenyan flags. | The pair moved along a red carpet greeting government ministers and security officials before another emotional moment when Obama embraced his half-sister, Auma. When Obama first visited Kenya in 1987, she picked him up in an old Volkswagen Beetle whose muffler fell off during the drive into Nairobi. This time, he invited her to join him in the back of the presidential limousine, nicknamed “the beast”, which was flying the American and Kenyan flags. |
| They drove off in a motorcade after an arrival notable both for its absence of pomp, ceremony and traditional dancers – not to mention Kenyan deputy president William Ruto, facing trial at the international criminal court – and for the biggest security operation in the vulnerable east African nation’s history. The airport’s domestic terminal was shut down for the arrival and patrolled by US marines, CIA and secret service agents and Kenyan soldiers. | They drove off in a motorcade after an arrival notable both for its absence of pomp, ceremony and traditional dancers – not to mention Kenyan deputy president William Ruto, facing trial at the international criminal court – and for the biggest security operation in the vulnerable east African nation’s history. The airport’s domestic terminal was shut down for the arrival and patrolled by US marines, CIA and secret service agents and Kenyan soldiers. |
| Kenya is treating the visit as a chance to shine, akin to an Olympics or football World Cup, and is all too aware how catastrophic another terrorist attack would be for its image. Three months ago Islamist militants murdered 148 people at a university in Garissa, while an attack on Nairobi’s Westgate shopping mall left at least 67 people dead less than two years ago. | Kenya is treating the visit as a chance to shine, akin to an Olympics or football World Cup, and is all too aware how catastrophic another terrorist attack would be for its image. Three months ago Islamist militants murdered 148 people at a university in Garissa, while an attack on Nairobi’s Westgate shopping mall left at least 67 people dead less than two years ago. |
| Hundreds of US security personnel have arrived in Kenya in recent weeks and three hotels have been examined by the secret service, according to local media. | Hundreds of US security personnel have arrived in Kenya in recent weeks and three hotels have been examined by the secret service, according to local media. |
| Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft, usually stationed at the US military base in Djibouti, flew over Nairobi this week alongside a White Hawk helicopter with presidential insignia, Agence France-Presse reported. Other military helicopters have been flown in reportedly from a US special forces facility at Kenya’s Manda Bay base, from which raids on al-Shabaab militants in Somalia are launched. | Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft, usually stationed at the US military base in Djibouti, flew over Nairobi this week alongside a White Hawk helicopter with presidential insignia, Agence France-Presse reported. Other military helicopters have been flown in reportedly from a US special forces facility at Kenya’s Manda Bay base, from which raids on al-Shabaab militants in Somalia are launched. |
| “Nairobi is seen as the second most important US embassy in the world after Moscow because of both Somalia and its proximity to the Middle East,” an American source said. “There are so many missions going on that we don’t even hear about.” | “Nairobi is seen as the second most important US embassy in the world after Moscow because of both Somalia and its proximity to the Middle East,” an American source said. “There are so many missions going on that we don’t even hear about.” |
| Kenya’s civil aviation authority announced that national airspace would be closed for 50 minutes on arrival and 40 minutes on departure, inadvertently revealing the schedule of the president, who will travel without his family. | Kenya’s civil aviation authority announced that national airspace would be closed for 50 minutes on arrival and 40 minutes on departure, inadvertently revealing the schedule of the president, who will travel without his family. |
| Obama is being chauffeured in his bomb-proof limousine. The $1.5m (£970,000) car has 20cm-thick steel plates, 13cm-thick bulletproof glass, kevlar-reinforced tyres and a presidential blood bank in the boot. | Obama is being chauffeured in his bomb-proof limousine. The $1.5m (£970,000) car has 20cm-thick steel plates, 13cm-thick bulletproof glass, kevlar-reinforced tyres and a presidential blood bank in the boot. |
| Around 10,000 police officers – roughly a quarter of the national force – are being deployed in the capital and several major roads would be closed to all but emergency and security vehicles. The move prompted many people to stay at home and numerous banks and schools to shut early on Friday. | Around 10,000 police officers – roughly a quarter of the national force – are being deployed in the capital and several major roads would be closed to all but emergency and security vehicles. The move prompted many people to stay at home and numerous banks and schools to shut early on Friday. |
| Evans Kidero, the governor of Nairobi county, said: “Security is both visible and invisible. It’s something we’ve been working on even before Obama is coming.” | Evans Kidero, the governor of Nairobi county, said: “Security is both visible and invisible. It’s something we’ve been working on even before Obama is coming.” |
| But security concerns are thought to have played a part in the decision for Obama not to travel to his father’s grave and meet family members in the village of Kogelo. One relative of Obama said: “I would have wished that he visit here but to me the most important fact is he’s coming to Kenya. He’s wearing several hats: he’s a family member and he’s the president of the United States. I know if he doesn’t come to Kogelo, his spirit will be there with us.” | |
| The 49-year-old half-brother of the president’s father said Barack Obama senior and junior shared a similar intelligence and deep baritone voice. “I’m feeling proud of Barack,” he said. “He has never failed us. He has put our name on the map.” | The 49-year-old half-brother of the president’s father said Barack Obama senior and junior shared a similar intelligence and deep baritone voice. “I’m feeling proud of Barack,” he said. “He has never failed us. He has put our name on the map.” |
| Obama himself talked recently about the heavy security restrictions compared with previous trips to his ancestral home, most recently as a senator in 2006. “I will be honest with you, visiting Kenya as a private citizen is probably more meaningful to me than visiting as president, because I can actually get outside of the hotel room or a conference centre,” he said. | Obama himself talked recently about the heavy security restrictions compared with previous trips to his ancestral home, most recently as a senator in 2006. “I will be honest with you, visiting Kenya as a private citizen is probably more meaningful to me than visiting as president, because I can actually get outside of the hotel room or a conference centre,” he said. |
| Related: Meet the Kenyan Barack Obamas preparing for their namesake's visit | Related: Meet the Kenyan Barack Obamas preparing for their namesake's visit |
| The 53-year-old president, who once shot down conspiracy theories that he had actually been born in Kenya by publicly producing his birth certificate from Hawaii, will spend time with family members who have travelled to Nairobi, including his step-grandmother, Sarah. | The 53-year-old president, who once shot down conspiracy theories that he had actually been born in Kenya by publicly producing his birth certificate from Hawaii, will spend time with family members who have travelled to Nairobi, including his step-grandmother, Sarah. |
| Securing the tour is uncharted territory since no sitting US president has previously visited Kenya or Ethiopia, to which Obama flies on Sunday. Both countries are seen as vital allies in the African theatre of the “war on terror”. | Securing the tour is uncharted territory since no sitting US president has previously visited Kenya or Ethiopia, to which Obama flies on Sunday. Both countries are seen as vital allies in the African theatre of the “war on terror”. |
| At a press conference at Nairobi’s state house, where the Kenyan and US flags currently fly alongside bunting, Kenyatta highlighted the threat. “Our country has endured the attacks of depraved, ideological criminals,” he said. “We have fought them unrelentingly, and they know, as well as we do, that they will lose.” | At a press conference at Nairobi’s state house, where the Kenyan and US flags currently fly alongside bunting, Kenyatta highlighted the threat. “Our country has endured the attacks of depraved, ideological criminals,” he said. “We have fought them unrelentingly, and they know, as well as we do, that they will lose.” |
| Kenyatta said there was “very close cooperation” with the US and “the fight against terror will be central” to his scheduled meeting with Obama, who is expected to visit the site of al-Qaida’s 1998 bombing of the US embassy. | Kenyatta said there was “very close cooperation” with the US and “the fight against terror will be central” to his scheduled meeting with Obama, who is expected to visit the site of al-Qaida’s 1998 bombing of the US embassy. |
| But Joseph Nkaissery, the Kenyan interior minister, called on the US-based news channel CNN to apologise for describing east Africa as a “hotbed of terror” during its coverage of the visit. The hashtag #SomeoneTellCNN was trending worldwide as Kenyans condemned the broadcaster. | But Joseph Nkaissery, the Kenyan interior minister, called on the US-based news channel CNN to apologise for describing east Africa as a “hotbed of terror” during its coverage of the visit. The hashtag #SomeoneTellCNN was trending worldwide as Kenyans condemned the broadcaster. |
| People have expressed frustration at the zealous security measures but also excitement at the imminent arrival of the US president. Thursday’s Daily Nation newspaper carried the front-page headline “Son of Kenyan student who changed the world”, and contained a 32-page supplement entitled “Karibu [Welcome] Obama”. | People have expressed frustration at the zealous security measures but also excitement at the imminent arrival of the US president. Thursday’s Daily Nation newspaper carried the front-page headline “Son of Kenyan student who changed the world”, and contained a 32-page supplement entitled “Karibu [Welcome] Obama”. |
| Street vendors were hawking American flags, glasses that paired the US flag with Kenya’s and other merchandise. People began lining the main road from the airport, and footbridges above it, several hours before the president’s arrival. Some even climbed trees for a better view. | Street vendors were hawking American flags, glasses that paired the US flag with Kenya’s and other merchandise. People began lining the main road from the airport, and footbridges above it, several hours before the president’s arrival. Some even climbed trees for a better view. |
| Related: Obama faces political minefield during Kenyan 'homecoming' | Related: Obama faces political minefield during Kenyan 'homecoming' |
| In a BBC interview on Thursday, Obama justified his visit to Kenya and Ethiopia despite human rights concerns, citing Burma as an example of engagement producing results. Asked about the opposition to gay rights of Kenya’s deputy president, William Ruto, Obama said: “Yeah, well, I disagree with him on that, don’t I? | In a BBC interview on Thursday, Obama justified his visit to Kenya and Ethiopia despite human rights concerns, citing Burma as an example of engagement producing results. Asked about the opposition to gay rights of Kenya’s deputy president, William Ruto, Obama said: “Yeah, well, I disagree with him on that, don’t I? |
| “Everybody deserves equal treatment in the eyes of the law and the state. And that includes gays, lesbians, transgender persons.” | “Everybody deserves equal treatment in the eyes of the law and the state. And that includes gays, lesbians, transgender persons.” |
| Obama said he had been blunt with African leaders about gay rights in the past and planned to make it part of his agenda. Kenyatta has described it as a “non-issue” in this weekend’s talks. | Obama said he had been blunt with African leaders about gay rights in the past and planned to make it part of his agenda. Kenyatta has described it as a “non-issue” in this weekend’s talks. |
| Kerry Kennedy, president of the Robert F Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights, said: “It is imperative for President Obama to show solidarity with the brave human rights activists, those who have literally put their lives on the line for the benefit of their countries, during his upcoming visit. | Kerry Kennedy, president of the Robert F Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights, said: “It is imperative for President Obama to show solidarity with the brave human rights activists, those who have literally put their lives on the line for the benefit of their countries, during his upcoming visit. |
| “At a time when the human rights situations in both Kenya and Ethiopia are worsening, the United States government must demonstrate that it stands on the side of the good and the just, signalling that respect for basic human dignity remains at the core of its foreign policy with all nations.” | “At a time when the human rights situations in both Kenya and Ethiopia are worsening, the United States government must demonstrate that it stands on the side of the good and the just, signalling that respect for basic human dignity remains at the core of its foreign policy with all nations.” |