The visit is also the first ever to Kenya by a sitting US president, and at least 10,000 police officers have also been deployed to the capital.
Kenyatta greeted Obama as he stepped off Air Force One late Friday. The president’s half-sister Auma was also on the tarmac to welcome him and travel in the bomb-proof presidential limousine, nicknamed “The Beast”, for the drive to the hotel in the city centre, where Obama dined with members of his extended Kenyan family.
Counter-terrorism will be a key topic for discussion in bilateral talks with Kenyatta on Saturday afternoon.
– Human rights on the agenda –
Nairobi was the scene of one of Al-Qaeda’s twin 1998 US embassy bombings, and Kenya is now the target of frequent Shabaab attacks, while the country’s Muslim-majority regions are facing a major recruitment drive by the Islamists.
The United States is a key security partner for Kenya, which has troops in Somalia as part of the African Union force, and US drones frequently target Shabaab fighters — killing the group’s previous leader last year.
A presidential visit to Kenya had been put on hold while Kenyatta faced charges of crimes against humanity for his role in 2007-08 post-election violence. The ICC has since dropped the case, citing a lack of evidence and accusing Kenyaof bribing or intimidating witnesses.
Kenyatta, however, has signalled that his controversial Deputy President William Ruto, still on trial at the ICC and outspokenly homophobic — having describing gays as “dirty” — would be present when government officials meet Obama.
Asked earlier this week whether gay rights would be discussed, Kenyatta insisted it was “a non-issue”, but Obama, in an interview with the BBC just ahead of the visit, said he was “not a fan of discrimination and bullying” and that this would be “part and parcel of the agenda”.
On Sunday Obama will meet with members of Kenya’s civil society, who have complained of growing restrictions in the country. He is not scheduled to visit his father’s grave in the village of Kogelo in western Kenya, and bemoaned the heavy security restrictions earlier this month.
“I will be honest with you, visiting Kenya as a private citizen is probably more meaningful to me than visiting as president, because I can actually get outside of the hotel room or a conference centre,” Obama said.
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