US Election: What if Kenya could vote?
NAIROBI, Kenya — As part of GlobalPost's project to interview 100 people in 20 locations around the world about the 2012 US election, we asked Kenyans:
Who do you want to win the 2012 US election?
Will the election affect your country?
How has your view of the US changed since President Obama took office?
What should the next US president do?
- Country: Kenya
- Name: David Njoroge
- Occupation: Data management consultant
- Age: 34
- I would vote for: Obama
The election's impact: "Ok, some people were expecting we would get more aid, more drugs for people with HIV, but that hasn't happened. He hasn't even visited us, and he hasn't done anything to affect the common wananchi [citizens]. But he has no option, he has to take care of the domestic issues because of the debts they have."
My view: "My opinion of [Obama] has gone up. I know many people are not happy with Obama. Americans expected more, and in fact the whole world was expecting a lot from Obama. Some Kenyans were expecting Obama to visit us, to bring us goodies, but he didn't — and if he had done, he'd be blamed for wasting money now by those Republicans. But I like him because he has a human perspective, he's fair. He's not against gays. He's more balanced between Muslims and Christians. Maybe that's why there is less terrorism now than when Bush was there."
Top priority: "He needs to improve on the economy and withdraw troops from Iraq and other countries. The focus has to be on domestic issues."
- Country: Kenya
- Name: Alex Lukuru
- Occupation: Carpenter
- Age: 40
- I would vote for: Obama
Top Priority: "I think the most important thing is to make sure the common people’s lives are made better and easier, economically and also in security matters."
- Country: Kenya
- Name: Boniface Mwangi
- Occupation: Photographer
- Age: 28
- I would vote for: Obama
The election's impact "Obama has a Kenyan connection but in terms of aid Kenya benefitted more under Bush than Obama, so even though Kenyans think Obama is one of our own, Obama is not one of us. We want to claim him as ours but if you look at his foreign policy Africa hasn’t been big on his agenda."
My view: "Much better: for once you have a smart guy in office!"
Top priority: "We need to do fair trade, man. The subsidies given the American farmers are killing our economies. We don’t need aid, we need trade."
- Country: Kenya
- Name: Shadrack Mutuku
- Occupation: Taxi driver
- Age: 32
- I would vote for: Obama
The election's impact: "It might if the election is not fair, if there’s corruption, you know sometimes they give us aid and also tourists. So if there’s peace there will be no tourists coming in our place. And also they give us business."
My view: "On my side it has improved. In business and on the side of terrorism, in this country and other countries."
Top priority: "The most important is to make sure there is a peace in every country. That is the key to everything."
- Country: Kenya
- Name: Pamela Owuor
- Occupation: Nanny
- Age: 43
- I would vote for: Undecided
The election's impact: "No, I don’t think so. That’s another country; we have our own country."
My view: "It’s just the same, it didn’t make any change to me at all because we do have to work hard as usual and when they bring the aid I’m not sure if it reaches us."
Top priority: "The important thing that can even help the Africans is if they can help us to stop these Al-Shabaabs because it is affecting the whole world. Maybe they can help in fighting people like Al-Shabaab and also stop pollution, then it’s a profit to me as an African."
GlobalPost series: See what the world thinks about election 2012