Kogelo village

A visit to the ancestral home of US President Barack Obama in Nyangoma village, Siaya County is a treat. Prospects of the village becoming a major tourism attraction site are even higher because of the interest the place has attracted among prospective tourists from not only Kenya but also countries abroad.

The tiny semi-bushy and dusty Kogelo village, which is located about ten kilometers in the south east of Siaya town has become the biggest of intensive business activities in the recent past. The village is frequented by businessmen, especially those involved in the tourist operation, hoteliers and others. Apart from businessmen, the village is witnessing the trooping of a battery of journalists from both locally and internationally.

The village of Kogelo was described by US President Barack Obama during his inauguration as the "small village where my father was born", but to residents it is no longer a simple matter. The once sleepy village has been catapulted into the international limelight, in proportions beyond its wildest dreams, thanks to the election of Barack Obama as the US President in 2008, the highest political office in America and the World. Today, Nyangoma Kogelo is among must visit tourist attractions in the western tourist circuit.

Cultural Centre

The Kenyan Government recently gazetted Kogelo village as a protected area under the National Museums and Heritage Act.

The government is also already setting up a cultural centre that includes a museum in honour of President Obama at his ancestral home in Nyang'oma Kogelo village in what will further open the region to more local and foreign tourists.

The proposed Museum, which will accommodate the history of the Obama family background, is also to be stocked with the artefacts from the local community and souvenir shops where visitors will be able to buy Obama's memorabilia. It will also house a library, self contained cottages, an amphitheatre, a restaurant and many more.

Currently majority of visitors to the area seek to see the grave where Barack Obama Snr was buried and have a chat with his surviving widow Mama Sarah Obama.

Others marvel at the two schools in the village — Senator Barack Obama Primary and Secondary School, formerly Nyangoma Primary and Kogelo Secondary — that sit on land donated by the father of the US President.

Nyang'oma Kogelo from a mere village to a major Tourist Attraction

Following the declaration of Kogelo village as a protected area under the National Museums and Heritage Act in a Kenya gazette notice, Nyang’oma Kogelo now enjoys the government's keen watch and publicity, joining the league of other tourist attractions in western Kenya where Kogelo is located.

Western Kenya prides of several tourist attractions sites and features such as the Kakamega "crying" stones, Kit Mikayi rocks in Kisumu, Maasai Mara Game Reserve, Kakamega Forest, Ndere Island, Impala, Saiwa Swamp, Ruma national parks among others. Zaira tours and travel will be glad to guide you through these most exciting attractions.