Barack Obama’s grandfather was imprisoned and brutally tortured by the British during the violent struggle for Kenyan independence, according to the Kenyan family of the US President-elect Full Story »
Posted by Walter Cox
This double bylined story recounts Barack Obama’s grandfather's imprisonment during the struggle for Kenyan independence. Hussein Onyango Obama was arrested in 1949 and reportedly tortured, leading to a lifelong hatred of the British. The account is based on an interview with Obama's "Granny Sarah," with snippets of history and a few citations from the president-elect's memoir. The account is somewhat lacking in intent, other than to note that colonialism caused immense suffering and perhaps that has influenced Barack Obama, as this anecdote about his paternal grandfather has an English connection.
As a French-Maltese, I understand the history and the hatred of British colonialism. I was reared among English and also know their respect for education. In the end, second and third generations do not embrace history to the extent that it influences our every action. But perhaps this story needs to be retold for the benefit of those very same generations to understand how independence is won and colonialism, defeated.
Barack Obama Sr, Mr Onyango’s son and the President-elect’s father, seems to have inherited his father’s attitudes towards the colonial power. He was also arrested, ... More »
An exceptionally well-written, informative article that provides a good introduction to the struggle to end colonial rule in Africa. Particularly interesting because it is told from the perspective of Barack Obama's paternal family.
During the past ten years I have learned more about colonial rule in Africa, and I have been apalled at the brutality so-called "civilized" European nations--Britain, France, Germany, and Belgium--visited on the people of Africa. Most Europeans, and most Americans, have only a vague idea exactly what this murderous history entailed, yet to understand contemporary Africa one must revisit its past.
The article is informative on both the colonial history of Kenya and the family history of Obama's distant blood relatives. The video British analysis seems overblown as it extrapolates way beyond any statements by Obama himself.
One can hope the real world knowledge would predispose the new president against colonialism and against torture. If there is not too much audacity in such hope...
Macintyre and Orengoh's main source of Onyango's grievances is his widow. A student of history would eschew this as a primary source; after all, the writers concede the widow's account was "hazy," I suspect the editors gave them a "skinny" (little or no expenses), two-day deadline assignment — an ersatz due-diligence piece, if you please. Then the editors slapped on a provocative headline, the kind that riles up the tea and crumpet crowd: "Dear me, their new president doesn't like us…"
The real story here, IF The Times were interested in parlaying the article into something meaningful, is to compare Mrs. Onyango's claims (about her husband's suffering under the hands of British rule) with the initial reservations the "Moses Generation" (black civil rights leaders) had about taking Obama seriously: Either he was not "black enough," or did not descend from slaves. To whatever degree Barack Obama's grandfather suffered, it would certainly qualify the President-Elect ... More »
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