Nyang'oma Kogelo, also known as Kogelo, is a village in
Siaya County,
Kenya. It is located near the
equator
The equator is a circle of latitude, about in circumference, that divides Earth into the Northern and Southern hemispheres. It is an imaginary line located at 0 degrees latitude, halfway between the North and South poles. The term can als ...
, 60 kilometres (37 mi) west-northwest of
Kisumu, the former
Nyanza provincial capital. The population of Nyangoma-Kogelo is 3,648.
[The EastAfrican, 23 January 2009]
Strange revearsal in Kogelo
/ref>
Services
Nyang'oma Kogelo is a typical rural Kenyan village with most residents relying on small-scale farming as their main source of income. The village has a commercial centre with various shops and a bar offering shopping and recreation to the populace.[Daily Nation, 18 November 2008]
/ref> The villagers practice different religions and coexist peacefully. Nevertheless, in 2009, the Nyang'oma Seventh-day Adventist Church
The Seventh-day Adventist Church is an Adventist Protestant Christian denomination which is distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the seventh day of the week in the Christian (Gregorian) and the Hebrew calendar, as the Sabbath, and ...
was involved in the attempted conversion of Barack Obama's step-grandmother Sarah Obama to Christianity. Following counsel from her family, she opted out of the arranged public conversion and baptism and remained a Muslim
Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
.
The village has a primary school (Senator Obama Primary School) and a high school (Senator Obama Secondary School). The land for both schools was donated by Barack Obama Sr.
Barack Hussein Obama Sr. (; 18 June 1934 – 24 November 1982) was a Kenyan senior governmental economist and the father of Barack Obama, the 44th president of the United States. He is a central figure of his son's memoir, '' Dreams from My Fa ...
, a native of the village, and they were renamed in 2006 after his son Barack — then a United States senator.[The Standard, 17 July 2006]
Villagers' Hopes in Obama's Homecoming
There is also a health centre.[BBC News, 5 November 2008]
Jubilation at Obama's Kenyan home
/ref>
Prior to the 2008 US presidential election
The 2008 United States presidential election was the 56th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 4, 2008. The Democratic ticket of Barack Obama, the junior senator from Illinois, and Joe Biden, the senior senator from ...
, the village had no electricity, but was connected to the national grid immediately following Obama's victory, owing to the consequent rise in interest in the village.[Daily Nation, 7 November 2008]
Sleepy Kogelo village transformed overnight
/ref> The village also saw its first Kenya Police
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post set up in the wake of the election outcome.
Transport
The village is along the unpaved C28 road between Ng'iya and Ndori[Daily Nation website, 24 January 2009]
Kogelo awakes to new dawn
/ref> junctions. Less than 10 kilometres north of Kogelo, Ngiya is located along the Kisumu - Siaya road (C30 road).Yala River
{{Infobox river
, name = Yala River
, image = YalaRiver.JPG
, image_size =
, image_caption = Yala river within Kakamega rainforest, western Kenya
, image_alt =
, map =
, map ...
flowing to Lake Victoria
Lake Victoria is one of the African Great Lakes. With a surface area of approximately , Lake Victoria is Africa's largest lake by area, the world's largest tropical lake, and the world's second-largest fresh water lake by surface area after ...
, before the road reaches Ndori along the Kisumu - Bondo road (C27 road). Kogelo is a road distance of 882 kilometres (548 miles) west of Mombasa.
Administration
Nyang'oma Kogelo is part of South East Alego electoral ward of Siaya County Council and Alego Constituency Alego Constituency is an electoral constituency in Kenya. It is one of six constituencies of Siaya County. The constituency was established for the 1963 national elections. It is also known as Alego-Usonga Constituency. The constituency has 13 wards ...
.[Electoral Commission of Kenya]
Polling Centres in Kenya
Following the 2007 civic elections, the local councillor is Julius Okeyo Omedo of Orange Democratic Movement. South East Alego is also an administrative location in the Karemo division of Siaya district. The location has a population of 17,294. As of 2008, the chief of the location is James Ojwang' Obalo, whose office is located next to the Nyang'oma Kogelo shopping centre.
History
Nyang'oma Kogelo is the home of the immigrant ancestors of the family of Barack Obama, the 44th president of the United States. They have resided in the village since colonial times.
Obama fame
Since 2006, the village has received international attention because it is the hometown of Barack Obama Sr.
Barack Hussein Obama Sr. (; 18 June 1934 – 24 November 1982) was a Kenyan senior governmental economist and the father of Barack Obama, the 44th president of the United States. He is a central figure of his son's memoir, '' Dreams from My Fa ...
(d. 1982), the father of former United States President Barack Obama. Barack Obama Sr. is buried in the village.Sarah Onyango Obama
Sarah Onyango Obama (1922 – March 29, 2021) was a Kenyan educator and philanthropist. She was the third wife of Hussein Onyango Obama, the paternal grandfather of U.S. president Barack Obama and helped raise his father, Barack Obama Sr. She ...
lived there until her death in March 2021.
Because of its connection with the former American president, the village is expected to be visited by many tourists from the US and other countries. The Kenyan government is promoting it as a tourist attraction of western Kenya. An Obama-themed museum was to be built by the Kenyan government and opened in the village in 2009. A Nairobi-based cultural organisation will build the Dero Kogelo Library and Cultural Centre in the village.[https://www.nation.co.ke/news/Obama-leaves-Nairobi-for-Kogelo/1056-4665098-lpvplo/index.html , Barack Obama opens youth centre in Kogelo]
References
External links
www.kogelo.co.ke
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nyang'oma Kogelo
Siaya County
Populated places in Nyanza Province