Wahlen in Kenia: Schlappe für Obamas Halbbruder

SPIEGEL ONLINE: Der Sieger steht noch nicht fest, aber einen Verlierer haben die Wahlen in Kenia bereits hervorgebracht: Malik Obama. Der Halbbruder des US-Präsidenten kandidierte für einen Gouverneursposten - holte in seinem Bezirk aber nicht einmal 700 Stimmen.

Nairobi - Bittere Niederlage für Obama: Bei den Wahlen in Kenia kam der ältere Halbbruder von US-Präsident Barack Obama auf schlappe ein Prozent der Stimmen. Malik Obama hatte sich in seinem Heimatbezirk Siaya im Westen des Landes um einen Gouverneursposten beworben. Von insgesamt 55.000 Wählern gaben nur 694 dem 54-Jährigen ihre Stimme. Der Sieger, William Odhiambo Oduol, erzielte stolze 56 Prozent.

Der Politiker mit dem prominenten Namen hatte im Wahlkampf die Bekämpfung der Armut, eine Verbesserung der Infrastruktur und die Schaffung von neuen Arbeitsplätzen versprochen. Er fühle sich durch die Leistungen seines jüngeren Bruders inspiriert, hatte er betont: "Es ziemt sich für den Erstgeborenen, ebenfalls einen Beitrag zu leisten, und ich möchte das hier in Kenia tun, in Afrika." » | vme/dpa/Reuters | Freitag, 08. März 2013

Barack Obama's Half-brother Malik Runs for Office in Kenya

THE GUARDIAN: Malik Obama is running for a governor's position in Kenya's nationwide elections on Monday

A politician named Obama who is running for governor in Kenya can boast of one big claim to fame on the campaign trail: blood relations with the president of the United States.

Malik Obama, 54, a half-brother of Barack Obama, is running for a governor's position in the country's nationwide elections on Monday. He said he was not sure what impact his relationship to the US president had on his campaign.

"I'm going into it as Malik Obama," he said in a phone interview from western Kenya. "I can't run away from my name and association with my brother, but I have the feeling that people somewhat want to see who the brother of Obama is."

He has invoked the message that Barack Obama leaned on during his 2008 presidential campaign: change. Malik Obama says his platform is poverty eradication, infrastructure development and industrialisation. » | Associated Press in Nairobi | Friday, March 01, 2013

‘Obama Family Is a Symbol of Religious Tolerance’
SAUDI GAZETTE: JEDDAH: Abdul Malik Obama, the brother of US President Barack Obama, has described their family as a symbol of religious coexistence and tolerance.

Speaking to Okaz/Saudi Gazette, Abdul Malik Obama said the family is a perfect example of this mindset because the US president has embraced Christianity while the rest of the family are Muslims and are leading Da’wa work, the religious call, in Africa.

Abdul Malik Obama said that coexistence between religions, preventing sedition, conflicts and wars, is important for the well-being of humanity. He confirmed that he has observed up close that President Obama loves and respects Islam and Muslims.

He said his brother has always remained in contact with the family and his roots in Africa, especially after his 2006 visit to Kenya and the birthplace of his father, Hussein Obama, in Kogelo village.

During the visit, he met his grandmother, Sara Obama; his sister, Obama Obama; his uncle, Sa’iy Obama; and his cousin, Omran Obama. He said his brother donated money to build a school bearing the name “Senator Obama.”

Abdul Malik Hussein Obama is spending most of his time in serving about 10 million Kenyan Muslims, who represent 35 percent of the country’s population, through Islamic centers and charitable societies he supervises.

He is also working as the executive secretary of the Islamic Da’wa Organization in Kenya. » | Naeem Al-Hakim | Thursday, December 09, 2010