Obama to address Kenyan people
July 26, 2015
Obama's speech in an indoor arena in Nairobi on Sunday morning will conclude a visit that has seen him make history by becoming the first sitting US president to visit Kenya.
The address is expected to center on issues regarding US-Kenyan relations and the country's future, as well as to touch on Obama's personal relationship with Kenya, the birthplace of his father.
Obama has already praised his reception in the country, telling a joint press conference with Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta on Saturday that "people couldn't have been warmer and kinder."
Firm messages
However, Obama also delivered firm messages both on corruption and homophobia, comparing the latter to the racial discrimination he had experienced in the United States.
Kenyatta, however, dismissed gay rights as "a non-issue" in his country, where many politicians - notably Deputy President William Ruto - express homophobic views and gay sex is punishable by up to 14 years in prison.
On the issue of corruption, Obama called for "visible prosecutions," describing the endemic graft besetting the country "the single biggest impediment to Kenya growing even faster."
On Sunday, the US president is scheduled to meet with members of Kenya's civil society, who often complain of increased constraints on freedom as Kenya struggles to combat the threat of terrorism posed by al-Shabab militants based in neighboring Somalia.
Democracy concerns in Ethiopia
He is then to travel on to Ethiopia's capital, Addis Ababa, where he plans to hold talks with the prime minister and president.
In Addis Ababa, Obama is also scheduled to hold the first-ever address by a US president to the African Union (AU), an alliance of 54 African nations tasked with promoting peace, cooperation and security on the continent.
Rights groups including Amnesty International have called on Obama to use his visit to address issues of democracy and political rights in Ethiopia, which the US State Department has said imposes "restrictions on freedom of expression" and carries out "harassment and intimidation of opposition members and journalists."
Two months ago, the ruling coalition of Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn took all 546 seats in parliament at elections, provoking opposition accusations that the government had used authoritarian tactics to gain victory.
Ethiopia is a key security partner of Washington, being, like Kenya, on the frontline of the fight against al-Shabab.
It is also one of the highest performing economies in Africa, with nearly double-digit growth.
tj/jlw (AFP, AP, dpa)