Bukyanagandi
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- Jun 24, 2009
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Photo:U.S. President Barack Obama © Jonathan Ernst / Reuters
As US President Barack Obama was paying his first official visit to Kenya, cartoonists in the east African nation used the opportunity to address government corruption, gay rights controversies, and even poke fun at the distinguished guest.
Though Obama has visited Kenya before, this was his first time in the official capacity of president.
The amount of equipment which came over on Air Force One and the extensive security detail involved prompted cartoonist Eric "Gammz" Ngammau to compare Obama to Kenyans packing heavy to visit their relatives in the back country.
The decision by Kenyan authorities to forcibly remove the homeless of Nairobi before Obama's arrival was mocked by another cartoonist, Patrick Gathara.
Gathara used a variation of that image to accuse Kenyan politicians of corruption, depicting them as pigs lining up to greet the visiting American leader.
The president's father, Barack Obama Senior, grew up and is buried in the remote western Kenyan village of Kogelo. Obama's election to the US presidency in 2008 prompted a frenzy of adulation in the African nation, described here in a cartoon by Tanzania's Godfrey "Gado" Mwampembwa.
Other cartoonists have touched upon the US lagging behind China in reaching out to Africa, mostly because Beijing keeps politics and culture separate from mutually acceptable business arrangements. Here is a 2013 cartoon by Celestine "Celeste" Wamiru.
For more cartoons click here
Source: RT
