Obama calls for Kenya leaders to tame corruption

Former US President Barack Obama is reinforcing his call for Kenya to tame corruption and embrace diversity for the national good, on his first visit to his native village in more than two decades.

In what appeared to be a direct line to President Uhuru Kenyatta and opposition leader Raila Odinga, Obama told an audience a handshake and reconciliation will only be good for the country if followed with action on graft and equality.

The former US leader spoke at an event in K'Ogelo, where his father was born, to launch a local youth centre, but his message was directed at chief political leaders who have often commanded nearly the same size of support.

And though he is no longer in office, Obama returned to his pet subject of democracy, equal opportunities and diversity; the same message he delivered when he gave a public lecture at Kasarani stadium three years ago.

"There has been real progress in this amazing country. The good news is Kenya has a new constitution, it has a new spirit of entrepreneurship," he told an audience among them Siaya Governor Cornel Rasanga, Mr Odinga's wife Ida and Kisumu Governor Anyang Nyong'o.

"Despite some of the tumultuous times that seem to attend every election, we now have the President and major leader of opposition who have pledged to build bridges and made specific commitments to work together.

"But we know real progress remains addressing the challenges that remain.

"It means rooting out corruption, it means seeing different ethnicities not as enemies or rivals but as allies; seeing the diversity not as a weakness but as a strength.

He spoke a day after meeting the two leaders who recently reconciled following a tense election that saw violence in most parts of Nyanza where K'Ogelo is.

Yet as President Uhuru Kenyatta announced tougher action on the corrupt and vowed to implement his Big Four Agenda meant to bring universal healthcare, food security and housing; Mr Obama called for sustained fight, especially since the national ranking according to Transparency International showed Kenya was still poor in fighting graft.

Obama argued poor communities will remain a threat to as long as there is no political will to ensure they rise from the situation.

"It means that economic growth reaches everyone and not just a few at the top, and it is broadly shared across the regions, guaranteeing education opportunities to everybody not just our boys but also out girls because the nations that give the same opportunities to their sons as their daughters is more likely to succeed."

Released from the chains of Presidential protocol, Mr Obama spoke freely this time, as opposed from written script. Buy often, he found himself repeating statements he made in 2015 when he came as President then.

He referred to his first visit in K'Ogelo in 1987 when he had to travel in a sluggish train with his sister Auma and then rickety buses to the village. Where he slept, what he ate and the visit to his father's grave site gave him inspiration, he said, mostly to fight poverty and support the poor.

"I visited my father's grave and it gave me a sense of satisfaction that no five-star hotel could ever provide."

"It is a joy to be back. There are so many people who are family to me. There are so many people who claim to be family to be. Everybody is a cousin.

"When I was President, my plane didn't quite fit on the tarmac. But today I come as a brother."

No politician was allowed to speak, leaving many of them dejected despite turning up.

In the audience too was Nigerian NBA basketball legend Masai Ujiri, now President of the Toronto Raptors, South African songbird Yvonne Chaka Chaka and Congolese Basketball star Bismack Biyombo who plays for Charlotte Hornets in thr NBA.

Their inclusion in the entourage said something about his own history and their mission to help the youth. Mr Obama said his father once gave him a basketball for a Christmas gift but he didnt notice its importance at the time.

Later in the evening, the legends joined him to officially launch a basketball court with a five-a-side exhibition match.

"Basketball became a refuge. On the court, what matters is not who you know or what your father is. What matters is commitment," he said at the court, referring to his life without a father.

"I hope you give this game a chance if you haven't played it before. I hope you love it as I have. By the way, this is not a game just for boys. I expect to see girls just as boys and I hope you learn to be disciplined."

Mr Masai is leading a team of legends to market to teach kids across Africa to utilise talent and hopefully join the NBA in future.

"We can see the whole of Africa from here. It is unbelievable," he said. Their mission is to plig into the Africa-rising mantra and market talent from the continent.

Speaking earlier in off-the-cuff remarks, he launched the had the Sauti Kuu Resource Centre started by his sister Auma Obama to help educate locals about utilising their talent.

But as he spoke, the former President referred to his only history and how his first visit to K'Ogelo 22 years ago to learn about his father inspired him to support the programme. Not restricted by protocol this time, Obama repeated remarks he made in 2015 at Kasarani, where he said the progress in Kenya now means fewer Kenyans need to travel abroad or even emigrate to get a good education, which means more youth can have opportunities in the country, if policies are put in place.