Obama's Kenyan relatives cheer win

"Unbelievable!" said Obama's half-brother Malik, leading his family in chanting, "Obama's coming, make way!"

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
kenya happy after obama win 248.88 ap (photo credit: AP)
kenya happy after obama win 248.88 ap
(photo credit: AP)
Barack Obama's Kenyan relatives erupted in cheers Wednesday, singing "We are going to the White House!" as Obama became the first African-American to be elected US president. In the western village of Kogelo, where the president-elect's late father was born, police had to tighten security to prevent hordes of media and others from entering the rural homestead of Obama's step-grandmother, Sarah. But the 87-year-old woman and several other relatives came outside Wednesday to cheer for Obama in a country where the Democrat is seen as a "son of the soil." Kenya's President Mwai Kibaki declared a public holiday on Thursday in honor of Obama's election victory. "Unbelievable!" said Obama's half-brother Malik, leading his family in chanting, "Obama's coming, make way!" Across Africa - where Obama is wildly popular - people stayed up all night or woke before dawn Wednesday to watch the US election results roll in. "He's in!" said Rachel Ndimu, 23, a business student who joined hundreds of others for an election party at the residence of the US ambassador to Kenya, Michael Ranneberger, which began at 5 a.m. "I think this is awesome, and the whole world is backing him," Ndimu said as people raised glasses of champagne. Many people hope an Obama presidency will help this vast continent, the poorest in the world. Some are looking for more U.S. aid to Africa, others simply bask in the glory of a successful black politician with African roots. Obama was born in Hawaii, where he spent most of his childhood reared by his mother, a white American from Kansas. He barely knew his late father. But that has not stopped "Obamamania" from sweeping the continent, and particularly Kenya, where his picture adorns billboards and minibuses. "If it were possible for me to get to the United States on my bicycle, I would," said Joseph Ochieng, a 36-year-old carpenter who joined hundreds of others celebrating in Nairobi's Kibera shantytown, one of Africa's largest slums. Samuel Ouma, 36, said Obama's victory alleviated some of the pain suffered in December after Kenya's disastrous presidential election, which unleashed weeks of violence here. "God has rewarded us triplefold," added Ouma's friend, Kennedy Obdiero. Ranneberger, the U.S. ambassador, said Kenyans' love for Obama was palpable. "With the media coverage over the past few weeks, I sometimes thought this was a Kenyan election," he told more than 500 people who gathered at his home, watching flat-screen TVs set up in the sprawling garden. Gibson Gaitho, 14, said he does not believe an Obama presidency will change his life, but he said he was inspired by the incredible rise of a man with Kenyan roots. "As Kenyans we feel proud," said Gaitho, who watched the results with scores of other schoolchildren at Ranneberger's party before heading back to class on a school bus. "Because of Obama, I know - you work hard, you achieve."