“So, are you Indians just as happy as we are?” a beaming Prof Festus Kaberia, Kenya’s High Commissioner to India, asks just as the Newsline team enters his office at the High Commission in Vasant Vihar. Without waiting for a reply, he shoots: “We as a nation are overjoyed at Barack Obama’s victory. Now our man will be in the White House.”Obama’s father came from the African nation, and as the euphoric nation declared a national holiday in his honour, the High Commission, too, has decided to close shop for the day tomorrow. “We have told everyone that if they come tomorrow to us for work, we are sorry; we won’t be available,” Kaberia says. “We will be too busy celebrating!” “We didn’t sleep till late last night,” he says, “as the sheer delight of seeing our man reach the most powerful seat in the world was too overpowering.”Kaberia’s political secretary Symon Koima adds with a smile: “Most of us came to the office this morning with red eyes. We all knew what kept everyone awake.”“We had so little time that we couldn’t even commission any decoration for our office this morning,” Kaberia says. “But tonight, I am hosting a big dinner for my staff and the Kenyan community in Delhi.”Though he does not divulge the venue, Kaberia lays out the menu: “Kenyan food, of course, along with American. But since we are in India, we will also serve Indian dishes. Just like in India, our menu is going to be a mix of cultures.” As for bigger plans, “the rest will come later,” he says.Though Kenya has been in a “celebratory mood” ever since Obama announced his candidature, Kaberia says: “Today is the climax of it all. After this momentous victory, I am sure he will not forget Africa in general and Kenya in particular.”“Just as Barack and Obama are common names in Kenya, I pray that as president of the world’s oldest democracy and strongest economy, Obama’s magic wand brings about positive change to the common man,” he says.
