Washington, D.C.—The Voice of America will provide live, on-the-scene coverage of President Obama’s trip to Africa as he arrives in Nairobi, Kenya, to join President Uhuru Kenyatta to co-host the Global Entrepreneurship Summit and then travel on to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Gabe Joselow, VOA’s regional correspondent based in Nairobi, and reporter Lenny Ruvaga are filing reports in advance of the President’s arrival. Traveling from Washington to cover the trip are Vincent Makori, host of VOA’s Africa 54, and Mwamoyo Hamza, chief of VOA Swahili. In addition, VOA White House Correspondent Aru Pande will follow the president’s activities in Kenya and Ethiopia, the second stop of the trip.
During a special live broadcast of Africa 54 on Saturday from both Nairobi and Washington, host Vincent Makori will interview President Obama’s uncle, Said Obama. Other guests on the program will include political analyst Dr. James Ngundi, a language and culture instructor at the State Department’s Foreign Service Institute; Nairobi-based analyst Dr. Oscar Wanyutu of the United States International University in Nairobi; and U.S. foreign policy expert Emira Woods from the technology firm ThoughtWorks.
In a recent interview with Africa 54 in Washington, Kenya’s Ambassador to the United States Robinson Githae told Vincent Makori that the summit will empower youth to start their own businesses that will create employment and lift other Kenyans out of poverty.
VOA plans to live-stream all official events during President Obama’s trip. VOA’s Swahili and Horn of Africa web pages have posted special sections to report on the president’s visit. Coverage in all 45 languages broadcast by VOA, will include a historical look at President Obama’s roots in Kenya and the transformation of Kogelo village where his father lived; U.S.-Kenya relations; the expectations of Kenyans and the Kenyan diaspora; and the expectations of the Ethiopian government.
