Obama urges Kenya to use tough past to guide its future

NAIROBI (Kenya) — President Barack Obama is urging Kenyans to use the lessons of Kenya’s difficult history to guide it into the future.

Mr Obama is giving a speech to several thousand Kenyans in Nairobi. It’s the centerpiece of his visit to the country where his father was born.

Mr Obama says Kenya isn’t perfect. But he says it’s come so far even in his lifetime. He’s describing an evolution from colonialism and isolation to independence and global engagement.

The president says Kenyans chose not to be defined by the past.

But Mr Obama says the progress isn’t complete. He says Kenya is at a crossroads filled with both peril and promise.

Mr Obama is noting the presence of corruption and tribal conflict and urging Kenya to reduce disparities in education and health care. AP