BLOGS
Somali elder who dressed Obama in 2006 now wants to meet him
Mr Mumin dressed Obama in 2016 when he was Illinois senator, (Courtesy)
NAIROBI—Mr Mohamed Hassan Mumin, a peace elder from Wajir County who dressed former US President Barack Obama in traditional Somali outfit in 2006, is now seeking to meet him.
Mohamed Hassan Mumin alias Duko from Wajir Bor had the rare honor of dressing the then-senator in a traditional Somali outfit in 2006. This was during Obama’s visit to the remote town in North Eastern Kenya when he was the Illinois Senator.
And while the gesture was intended as a cultural blessing, it would later be used as political fodder by Obama’s opponents in the presidential race.
The regalia was interpreted by his 2006 political opponent Hilary Clinton as representing extremism associated with terror groups such as Al-Qaeda.
The Shiekh would later seek an apology from Hillary Clinton’s campaign team for discrediting “the best traditional Somali attire” only accorded to an exceptional guest who visits the community.
Mr Hassan is widely credited with bringing to an end bloody inter-clan clashes between Degodia and Ogaden in Wajir in 1993.
On why he hopes to catch a moment with Obama this time around, the Sheikh is quoted as saying: “I blessed Mr Obama when he was a senator and he ended up ruling America for two terms. I now want to bless him to be the leader of peace in global hotspots such as Syria, Palestine, Afghanistan, South Sudan and Somalia.”
Obama’s link to Kenya is a father he barely knew, but whose influence can nonetheless be seen in his son’s presidency.
He has spoken candidly about growing up without his Kenyan-born father and feeling “the weight of that absence.”
