Nyang'oma Kogelo, also known as Kogelo, is a village in Siaya County,

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

. It is located near the

equator The equator is the circle of latitude that divides Earth into the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Southern Hemisphere, Southern Hemispheres of Earth, hemispheres. It is an imaginary line located at 0 degrees latitude, about in circumferen ...

, 60 kilometres (37 mi) west-northwest of

Kisumu Kisumu ( ) is the third-largest city in Kenya located in the Lake Victoria area in the former Nyanza Province. It is the second-largest city after Kampala in the Lake Victoria Basin. The city has a population of slightly over 600,000. The ...

, the provincial capital of the former

Nyanza province Nyanza Province (; ) was one of Kenya's eight administrative provinces before the formation of the 47 counties under the 2010 constitution. Six counties were organised in the area of the former province. The region is located in the southwes ...

. 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 (SDA) 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 Sa ...

was involved in the attempted conversion of

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

's step-grandmother Sarah Obama to

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...

. Following counsel from her family, she opted out of the arranged public conversion and

baptism Baptism (from ) is a Christians, Christian sacrament of initiation almost invariably with the use of water. It may be performed by aspersion, sprinkling or affusion, pouring water on the head, or by immersion baptism, immersing in water eit ...

and remained a

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

. 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., a native of the village, and they were renamed in 2006 after his son Barack — then a

United States senator The United States Senate consists of 100 members, two from each of the 50 U.S. state, states. This list includes all senators serving in the 119th United States Congress. Party affiliation Independent Senators Angus King of Maine and Berni ...

.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 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 The Kenya Police Service is a national body in charge of law enforcement in Kenya. It is subordinate to the National Police Service which is headed by an Inspector General of Police who exercises independent command over the Service. Kenya Po ...

post set up in the wake of the election outcome.

Transport

The village is along the unpaved C28 road between Ng'iya and NdoriDaily Nation website, 24 January 2009
Kogelo awakes to new dawn
/ref> junctions. Less than 10 kilometres north of Kogelo, Ngiya is located along the

- Siaya road (C30 road). Few kilometres south of Nyang'oma Kogelo, a bridge built in 1930 crosses the Yala River 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 tropics, tropical lake, and the world's second-largest fresh water lake by surface are ...

, 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 Constituencies of Kenya, 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 ...

.Electoral Commission of Kenya
Polling Centres in Kenya
Following the 2007 civic elections, the local councillor is Julius Okeyo Omedo of

Orange Democratic Movement The Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) is a centre-left political party in Kenya. It is the successor of a grassroots people's movement that was formed during the 2005 Kenyan constitutional referendum campaign. This movement separated in Augus ...

. 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 The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...

. 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. (d. 1982), the father of former

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

President

. Barack Obama Sr. is buried in the village. Some of their family members still live in the village. His paternal step-grandmother Sarah Onyango Obama 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. Obama visited the village in July 2018.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