Obama's Kenyan Clan Adjusts to Fame

Media, security forces, and opportunists descend on Kenyan village
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Nov 22, 2008 6:27 AM CST

The election of Barack Obama has changed the lives of his Kenyan relatives forever, the Los Angeles Times reports. Roughly 400 people in western Kenya can claim kinship to the president-elect, and the clan is attracting huge amounts of attention from the world's media and from fellow Kenyans. Their village now boasts a new road, its first power line—and a new police station.

Security could be a major issue for the Obamas, say experts who wonder if Kenyan police are up to the job. The Obamas, prosperous by local standards, are also struggling with their new world image as poor relations—and with the notion that they might be looking for a hand-out. "We support Barack, but we have no expectations," said Obama's half-sister Auma. (More Barack Obama stories.)

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