Aug 28, 2006 7:00 pm US/Central
Obama's Criticism Irks Kenyan Government
Government Says Obama Is A Stooge For Political Opposition
by Mike Flannery
(CBS)
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Obama and Raila Odinga
CBS
There are signs of tension between
Sen. Barack Obama and African leaders. On Monday, Obama stepped up his criticism of government corruption in Kenya.
But as CBS 2 Political Editor Mike Flannery reports, the government fired back, saying Obama is a stooge for an opposing political party.
A surprise raid that seized and burned copies of
Kenya's oldest newspaper,
The Standard, still prompts journalists there to call last March 2 the darkest day in the more than 100 years they've been publishing.
"For us as an institution, I think it was the lowest point in the history of this newspaper," News Editor Douglas Okwatch said.
It was because of that raid that Sen. Barack Obama went to the Standard's offices. He declared that democracy can't work without freedom of the press and freedom of information.
"It is not just a loss for the Standard. It's a loss for the people of Kenya. So my hope is that this is one episode that won't be repeated," Obama said.
At the
University of Nairobi two hours later, the senator offered more pointed criticism, something he's done almost every day since arriving last week. After remaining largely silent, the government of President
Mwai Kibaki is beginning to respond, suggesting that Obama may have fallen under the spell of opposition leader
Raila Odinga.
A potential presidential candidate himself, Odinga's been at Obama's elbow here fairly often and is a member of the Obama family's Luo tribe.
"Sen. Obama has to look at critically about where he's receiving his advice from," said government spokesman Dr. Alfred Mutua. "Just because somebody, somewhere wants to run for president and is using Sen. Obama as his stooge, as his puppet to be able to get to where he wants to get to."
Stung by Obama's continuing criticism of corruption in Kenya, government spokesman Alfred Mutua placed an ad in several newspapers. He reasserted that no bribe money was extorted from CBS 2 News during a customs dispute at the Nairobi airport that has now been widely publicized here, calling it instead a case of miscommunication. The $840 was returned to CBS 2 after Obama complained. Mutua said it was legitimate customs duties, but he could not explain why we were charged double the maximum amount allowed under Kenyan law.
The next stop on Obama's African journey is a wildlife safari at the Masai Mara Game Reserve.
CBS 2's Mike Flannery will have reports at 6PM and 10PM on Wednesday.
(© MMVI, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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