Obama's Half-Brother Runs for Office in Kenya; Gets Campaign Advice from US President
Malik Obama, President Barack Obama's oldest half-brother, said Monday he will run for governor of the western Kenya county of Siaya, according to Bloomberg News.
The 54-year-old will compete as an independent candidate during the March 4 national elections and said he will use his relationship with the U.S. president, whom he shares a father with, to address issues facing Kenyans such as poverty and unemployment.
"Siaya county is facing a lot of problems from poor infrastructure to poverty due to bad leadership," he said. "I will change this if elected."
Malik's main opposition will be the Orange Democratic Movement party's nominee Oburu Oginga, the brother of current Prime Minister Raila Odinga. Siaya County is also where Malik and Obama's father, Barack Obama Sr., was born.
Kenya's elections in March will be the first since 2007, where more than a thousand died and others were forced to flee their homes following fights about election results. Siaya has a poverty rate of 35.3 percent and suffers from some of the highest HIV and malaria infection rates in Kenya, Bloomberg noted.
Barack and Malik Obama met for the first time in 1985 and have been close ever since, the New York Daily News reported. They were also the best man at each other's weddings. As for as campaign advice he received from the U.S. president, Malik said his half-brother told him to "have thick skin, be honest, and sincere." Malik said he discussed his campaign plans with his brother on Nov. 16, during a visit to the United States.
"My agenda is 1) poverty eradication, 2) infrastructure development, and 3) industrialization," he said.
Malik holds a degree in accounting from the University of Nairobi and runs an electronics store in the Kenyan village he lives in. A spokesperson for the president has yet to issue a statement regarding Barack's reaction to his brother's news.
