Kenyans are feeling left out as US President Barack Obama begins his tour of Africa on Wednesday.

Obama will skip Kenya, the birthplace of his father Barack Obama Snr, during his tour of Africa. While the Kenyan government has remained mute over the apparent snub, Kenyans are talking.

70-year-old Wilson Odhiambo is one of the people left shocked by Obama’s decision not to visit Kenya.

“I am greatly disappointed, he’s our son why does he refuse to come to see his people, honestly,” says Odhiambo.

Odhiambo comes from Obama’s father’s ancestral village – probably the reason why this apparent snub is close to his heart.

He is however not alone, many Kenyans feel the World’s most powerful man whom they fondly refer to as their “son” is ill-informed.

An official at the White House has hinted at the Crimes against Humanity charges facing President Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy William Ruto as the reason why Obama will not come to Kenya. Some Kenyans seem to agree with him.

Nairobi resident Laura Okall says: “The charges that they are facing are so huge, you cannot just wish them away.”

Obama last visited Kenya in 2006 when he was still a US Senator. His snub is however seen as a strategic move.

“To me what he is doing is avoiding a backlash of criticism not so much the Kenyan situation,” says political analyst Maina Muturi.

Kenya has never hosted a sitting American Head of State. Many Kenyans had hoped Obama would be the first not only because of Kenya’s strategic position in the region’s but also the strength of his ancestral roots.
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