It gets even better!!

‘Obama’s grandpa was born in Uganda’

Angelo Izama

Kampala

An organisation speaking for the Luo Community has said President-elect Barack Obama’s grandfather was born in Uganda.
They also urged the governments of the East African Community [including Burundi] to designate the day of his inauguration today as the first black president of America- a national holiday.

The statement signed by Nelson Umah Tete and sent to media houses yesterday said the facts about Obama’s ancestry are discussed in a book titled “The Luo” by George William Alenyo.
The book will also be launched today to coincide with Mr Obama’s inauguration.

The organisation, Luo Community [Ugandan Chapter], is however an unregistered entity whose real membership remains unknown.
“By 1926 when Obama’s grandfather Onyango Obama was born in Nyanza province [it] was still part of the Uganda protectorate whose boundary extended up to the Rift Valley in Nakuru” the statement said, adding that the boundaries were only altered in 1926.

Since his campaign for the White House began, Mr Obama’s East African roots have been a source of excitement in the region.
A beer has been named after him, in Kenya where his father was born and worked, as have been children born on the day he won the Presidency. DVD’s with his speeches are selling like blockbusters and his acceptance speech has been turned into a cellular phone ringtone.

While ‘Obamania’ has shown no signs of ebbing, it holds a special significance to ethnic Luo group.
The Luo, whose author is a Ugandan lawyer, will add to this controversial mix of aspects of Mr Obama’s life and history which have been mined by all and sundry for relevance.

The book’s main focus is to trace the origin of the Luo to Sudan and Egypt and profile the commonality between the Luo and the Jews of later- day Israel.

Interpreted liberally, the author is saying Barack Obama is a “black Jew” with origins in East Africa with its messianic connotations.

“To date, traditional religious practices of the Luo are judiac and jewish in origin” the author claims, adding that Luo names like Barak “spelt “Barack” means “blessed” in Hebrew.

Organisers say the book will be launched at the National Theatre Auditorium at midday today, just hours before Obama takes his oath as the 44th President of the United States of America.