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Obama's family in Kenya 'hoping and praying' for re-election victory
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06 November 2012
The family of Barack Obama today told how they are “hoping and praying” for a re-election victory.
His siblings will gather at the ancestral home in Kenya to watch the results of the long-fought presidential race and cheer on their brother together.
In an interview with the Standard, the President’s half-brother Malik Obama, 54, said the family and locals in the village of Nyan’goma Kogelo were “excited” in anticipation of him being re-elected to the White House.
Mr Obama said: “The mood here is electric, we are all fired up. I’m very positive and I’m sure he will be re-elected.
“We are hoping my brother will get another term so that he can complete the promises he has made. We’ll be sitting in front of the TV enjoying the moment when he is again announced President of the United States. We are hoping and praying that God will bless the world again.”
He added he had recently been in touch with the President. “I sent him a message to wish him well and say good luck,” he said. “He has our support.”
The financial consultant who lives in Washington DC travelled back to the family’s home village in western Kenya, where the local people regard President Obama as their “favourite son”.
When he was elected four years ago, the village celebrated with parties through the night and then received a letter from the President addressed to the villagers thanking them for their prayers and support.
The brothers have the same father, Barack Obama Snr, but different mothers. Malik’s mother Kezia was Mr Obama Snr’s first wife. They married in their homeland of Kenya. He went on to marry two more women, the President’s mother Ann Dunham — an American he met during a scholarship to the US — and an American teacher called Ruth.
After his father’s death, Mr Obama, then 21, went to Kenya and met his sister and brothers for the first time. They became so close that Malik was chosen as best man at his brother’s wedding.
Malik, who wrote a book about his father, Barack Obama Sr: The Rise And Life Of A True African Scholar, said: “My father had dreams he never fulfilled so if he were to come back and see what his children are accomplishing, to see how successful they are, he would breathe a sigh of relief. He would be brimming with pride and joy.
"I came back here for the election because it is my duty and responsibility as the eldest son to be my father’s representative here.”
He added: “The American people have showed the world what it is to be a true democracy. To elect someone with my brother’s background, to give him a chance regardless of race and religion is amazing and he is so worthy of the position they have given him.
“My brother represents the world. He is white, he is black, he is east, he is west. That is his appeal.
“I’m so proud of what he has done. He has put the Obama name on everybody’s lips.”
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