Obama says Kenya at crossroads

US President Barack Obama has praised Kenya’s economic and political advances, but also warned of challenges ahead. In a speech in Nairobi, he said his father’s homeland had “come so far in just my lifetime”. But he also said corruption, terrorism and tribal or ethnic division were threats to its future. “Kenya is at a […]

US President Barack Obama has praised Kenya’s economic and political advances, but also warned of challenges ahead.
In a speech in Nairobi, he said his father’s homeland had “come so far in just my lifetime”.
But he also said corruption, terrorism and tribal or ethnic division were threats to its future.
“Kenya is at a crossroads, a moment filled with peril but enormous promise,” he said.
Young Kenyans nowadays did not have to serve a colonial master or leave the country – like his grandfather and father had had to, Mr Obama said.
“Because of Kenya’s progress, because of your potential, you can build your future right here, right now,” he said to applause from a huge audience at a sports stadium in the capital, Nairobi.
The trip is Obama’s first visit as president to the land where his father was born.