'Our son Obama': The US presidential election in Western Kenya

Writing from the city of Kisumu located 60 kilometres from the birthplace of Barack Obama's father, the authors describe the Obama-mania gripping Kenya and follow Kenyans' debates, both light-hearted and serious, concerning Obama's kinship ties to Kenya and the expectations these raise. They argue that Kenyan's hopes and fears surrounding the US elections should be understood in the context of the contested December 2007 Kenyan elections and the violence that shook Kenyan society in their aftermath; and they trace some of the faultines of race and class that came to the surface during the hightened emotions surrounding the US election and Obama's victory.