KENYA: As residents of President Barack Obama's ancestral village, Kogelo, closley follow the U.S. election some are turning to witchcraft and holding prayer vigils in the hope that their efforts will help Obama win another term in office

Record ID: 362403

  • Title: KENYA: As residents of President Barack Obama's ancestral village, Kogelo, closley follow the U.S. election some are turning to witchcraft and holding prayer vigils in the hope that their efforts will help Obama win another term in office
  • Date: 6th November 2012
  • Summary: KOGELO, KENYA (NOVEMBER 06, 2012) (REUTERS) WIDE SHOT OF ROAD LEADING TO JOHN DIMA, WITCH DOCTOR'S HOME DIMA AND HIS WIFE OUTSIDE THEIR HOUSE VARIOUS OF DIMA THROWING SHELLS ON MAT SHELLS USED BY WITCHDOCTOR WITCHDOCTORS WIFE SMOKING (SOUNDBITE) (Luo) JOHN DIMA, WITCHDOCTOR, SAYING: "His father was my friend; his grandfather was also my good friend. So I am predicting th
  • Embargoed: 21st November 2012 12:00
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  • Location: Kenya
  • Country: Kenya
  • Topics: International Relations,Arts / Culture / Entertainment / Showbiz,Quirky,Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA4VXI81YCYJ335JL93G7P0DCNY
  • Story Text: Thousands of miles away from United States and hours before the US goes to polls that could see president Barack Obama win another term in office, a witchdoctor from his Kenyan ancestral village is hopeful Obama will regain his seat and defeat his rival through the ballot box.
    John Dima, a respected local witchdoctor sits outside his house throwing to the ground some paraphernalia that he uses to force what the future holds.
    Standing beside the witchdoctor is his wife who shouts instructions as to what needs to be done before Dima announces what the results of his predictions are.
    Dima is not an ordinary witchdoctor. He was a friend to Barack Obama's father and feels indebted to tell what the future of America is going to be.

    "His father was my friend; his grandfather was also my good friend. So I am predicting that Obama to win the presidency, that's all," Kogelo witchdoctor John Dima said.
    U.S. presidential elections are hours away but far from the polling stations and swing states, supporters of the incumbent, Barack Obama living in western Kenya, hope a second term will be good news for them.

    "I believe Obama is going to win but I don't believe in witchcraft. If I look at opinion polls in the U.S, Obama is still higher than Mitt Romney," said Aggrey Odhiambo.
    In the tiny Kenyan village of Kogelo, Obama's ancestral homeland, and where his grandmother still lives, some express hurt that their son has never visited since he took office four years ago.
    In 2008 thousands celebrated with noisy gusto when Obama, whose father came from Kogelo, became the first African-American to be elected president of the United States.
    Obama fever has cooled over the years but people here would like to see him take another term, hoping this time, he will make more of a difference in their lives.
    Others feel Obama's predecessor George Bush and his party could not be able to hunt down Osama Bin Laden who had a bounty on his head but Obama was able to hunt him down and kill him.

    "I believe Obama will win because he has done a lot for people of America with a good example of Osama, the previous administration of George Bush was not able to contain him but Obama was able to kill him," added David Otieno.
    Obama has only visited sub-Saharan Africa once while in office - a stopover of less than a day in Ghana in between summits elsewhere.
    But despite the disappointment many think Obama is still the best man for the job and expect good things to come their way if he returns to the White House.
    Not all believe in witchcraft as Clementina Auma attests. She is among many others who are praying for Obama's win.

    "We have given thanks to God, who we are asking to guide our son so that he can win another term in office because we have seen a big difference during his leadership," said a local priest Clementina Auma.
    Sub-Saharan Africa has gone virtually unnoticed as a topic in the U.S. presidential election campaign, focused heavily as it has been on pressing domestic issues such as the lack of jobs and how to prod America's stuttering economy to faster growth.
    ENDS
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