Kenyan PM backs Obama

2008-10-27 22:15

Nairobi - Kenya's Prime Minister Raila Odinga, in a show of support for US presidential candidate Barack Obama, paid a surprise visit to Obama's relatives in the east African country, reports said on Monday.

Odinga met with the 86-year-old Sarah Obama, the Democratic candidate's step-grandmother, and other members of his family in the tiny village of Kogelo in western Kenya, according to Kenya's The Standard newspaper.

Kenya would benefit if Obama won the election, Odinga said. An Obama presidency in the US would mean Africa in general and Kenya in particular would see more international attention and trade, he added.

"I am praying that my grandson wins," Sarah Obama was quoted as saying in the report.

Meanwhile, a popular Kenyan reggae musician has also thrown his weight behind the Illinois senator, with a hit "Obama be thy name" being played in reggae clubs and on the airwaves.

Makadem, one of the best known artists on Kenya's music scene, said in Nairobi on Monday that the music video version would reach listeners and voters in the US via the internet.

"My song is aimed primarily at Americans," Makadem said.

"I wrote this song as a citizen of the world and I believe that Obama, with his mixed ethnic background, really is the man for the world today."

Obama, whose late father was Kenyan, has become somewhat of a national hero in his ancestral homeland in recent weeks, which his face staring out from the back of rickety Matatu commuter minibuses. - Sapa-dpa

- SAPA