NAIROBI , Kenya ( CNN ) -- Kenyans have long watched the U.S. presidential election with special interest and , in many cases , a special sense of pride . Barack Obama speaks to residents of Africa 's largest slum , Kibera , Kenya , in August 2006 . Barak Obama is the son of a black man from Kenya and a white woman from Kansas . `` I 'm excited ... because he 's a Kenyan . He 's a half Kenyan , '' a smiling woman said in a Nairobi neighborhood . More than a few hangovers were expected Wednesday as many Kenyans celebrated the presumptive Democratic nominee 's latest primary election win and him surpassing the delegate total needed to win the party 's nomination . Video from across the country showed Kenyans dancing and swilling Senator Keg Lager , which has picked up the nickname `` Obama Beer '' in honor of the junior senator from Illinois . Obama is popular across many parts of the country , especially in western Kenya where many of his relatives live . `` I want a black man to rule America so that you can see the changes that Obama promised the people ... to see the change , '' one young man said . `` Obama is a ( good ) man , '' said an older man with gray hair , carrying twisted wrought iron on his shoulder . `` He 's fit to lead the country . '' In summer 2006 thousands of Kenyans lined the streets of Kisumu , giving Obama a hero 's welcome on his visit to his father 's home . Obama 's father died in a car accident in Nairobi in 1982 . As he rode through the streets in a truck , flanked by a lengthy convoy , massive crowds chanted `` Obama , Obama '' and waved flags emblazoned with his name and an image of his face . Many also wore T-shirts dedicated to the U.S. senator . CNN 's David McKenzie contributed to this story .
Barack Obama is popular across Kenya , from where his father came . Comment: He is especially in western Kenya , where many of his relatives live . Last year thousands of Kenyans welcomed him to Kisumu , his father 's home .