US President Barack Obama gestures while giving a speech during the Global Entrepreneurship Summit at the United Nations Compound in Nairobi on July 25, 2015. (AFP)
Nairobi:
Kenyan media were awash Saturday with coverage of Barack Obama's first visit to his father's homeland, with the US president waving from one front page headlining "Kenya Here I Am".
Hours after he landed in Nairobi on the first leg of a two-country Africa tour, large chunks of all the major newspapers, and long stretches of television programming, were devoted to coverage of Obama's visit.
Crowds had gathered in the dark along the road from the airport to the city centre to cheer as the US presidential motorcade passed by after Obama arrived on Air Force One at 8:00 pm (1700 GMT) Friday.
Obama's Kenyan half-sister, Auma Obama, accompanied him in his armoured limousine, nicknamed "The Beast".
Obama was due to give his first public address on Saturday morning at the opening of the Global Entrepreneurship Summit at Nairobi's large UN compound.
An editorial in The Nation spoke of the "Obama phenomenon" and called on Kenyans to be inspired by his example of "the boundless possibilities open to us as individuals and as a nation."
"If there is one important outcome from the presidential visit, it is that we can, indeed, stand above all the little schisms that all too often turn us against each other," the editorial said, in a reference to the country's deep ethnic divisions that came to the fore during election-related violence seven years ago.
The Star took a similar tone, saying political differences should be set aside.
The Standard urged Kenyans to "embrace entrepreneurship" and hoped Obama's visit would have economic benefits for the country.
Hours after he landed in Nairobi on the first leg of a two-country Africa tour, large chunks of all the major newspapers, and long stretches of television programming, were devoted to coverage of Obama's visit.
Crowds had gathered in the dark along the road from the airport to the city centre to cheer as the US presidential motorcade passed by after Obama arrived on Air Force One at 8:00 pm (1700 GMT) Friday.
Obama's Kenyan half-sister, Auma Obama, accompanied him in his armoured limousine, nicknamed "The Beast".
Obama was due to give his first public address on Saturday morning at the opening of the Global Entrepreneurship Summit at Nairobi's large UN compound.
An editorial in The Nation spoke of the "Obama phenomenon" and called on Kenyans to be inspired by his example of "the boundless possibilities open to us as individuals and as a nation."
"If there is one important outcome from the presidential visit, it is that we can, indeed, stand above all the little schisms that all too often turn us against each other," the editorial said, in a reference to the country's deep ethnic divisions that came to the fore during election-related violence seven years ago.
The Star took a similar tone, saying political differences should be set aside.
The Standard urged Kenyans to "embrace entrepreneurship" and hoped Obama's visit would have economic benefits for the country.
Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world
