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US President Obama Arrives In Kenya, Kicks Off Five Day Africa Trip

On Saturday July 25th, President Obama will meet Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta for an official state dinner and meeting. Also on Saturday, President Obama will address attendees of the Global Entrepreneurship Summit and members of the international media.

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The President of the United States, Barack Obama, landed at Kenyatta International Airport (KIA) at about 8:02pm local time. This is the first trip President Obama has made to the ancestral home of his father since he was elected as President in 2008.

As President Obama disembarked Air Force One he was greeted by a little girl in a white dress who curtsied, according to reports. He was then met by Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta and his sister Auma who lives in Kenya.

Accompanying President Obama on Air Force One were several aides including National Security Adviser Susan Rice, the Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes, the White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest, and President Obama’s Deputy Chief of Staff Anita Decker Breckenridge.

In addition to his aides a “1,000-strong delegation of American government officials, businesspeople, and politicians from both the Democratic and Republican parties,” according to the Daily Nation of Kenya.

Also meeting President Obama at KIA was a 20 person welcoming delegation including the US Ambassador to Kenya Robert Godec, the Minister of Foreign Affairs Amina Mohamed, and the Speaker of the National Assembly Justin Muturi, and other Kenyan politicians.

The entire arrival took about 10 minutes, according to reports.

President Obama will visit Nairobi, Kenya where he will stay for two days before departing for Ethiopia on Sunday evening.

President Obama’s trip has been met with controversy from Kenyans as well as human rights organizations located in the US. Many Kenyans are frustrated at the prospect that President Obama will force same-sex marriage on Africa during his trip.

Human rights groups, including Amnesty International, have expressed concerns that President Obama is visiting Ethiopia—a country with an abysmal human rights and press freedom record.

On Saturday July 25th, President Obama will meet Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta for an official state dinner and meeting. Also on Saturday, President Obama will address attendees of the Global Entrepreneurship Summit and members of the international media.

Sunday July 26th, President Obama plans to address the Kenyan people on developing deeper ties between American and Kenyan civil society groups. He will also speak about wildlife and ivory trafficking, education opportunities for women, and counterterrorism.

On Monday the 27th, President Obama will meet with the Ethiopian President Mulatu Teshome and the Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn for a news conference and official state dinner. The following day President Obama will join a roundtable of civil society and human rights groups at the African Union, headquartered in Addis Ababa. 

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