Abon'go Malik "Roy" Obama (born March 17 1958) is a Kenyan-American businessman and former political candidate known for being the paternal half-brother of 44th

president of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

, and the eldest son of economist

Barack Obama Sr. Barack Hussein Obama Sr. (; born Baraka Obama, 18 June 1934 – 24 November 1982) was a Kenyan senior governmental economist and the father of Barack Obama, the 44th president of the United States. He is a central figure of his son's memoir, ' ...

Biography

Abon'go Malik "Roy" Obama was born and raised in

Nairobi Nairobi is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Kenya. The city lies in the south-central part of Kenya, at an elevation of . The name is derived from the Maasai language, Maasai phrase , which translates to 'place of cool waters', a ...

, Kenya. His parents are economist

and his first wife,

Kezia Obama The family of Barack Obama, the 44th president of the United States, is a prominent American family active in law, education, activism and politics. Obama's immediate family circle was the first family of the United States from 2009 to 2017 d ...

(née Aoko). Obama earned a degree in accounting from the

University of Nairobi The University of Nairobi (uonbi or UoN; ) is a college, collegiate research university based in Nairobi and is the largest List of universities and colleges in Kenya, university in Kenya. Although its history as an educational institution dat ...

. He met his younger half-brother,

, for the first time in 1985, when Barack flew from

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, to visit Malik. According to him, the two each served as

best man A groomsman or usher is one of the male attendants to the groom in a wedding ceremony. Usually, the groom selects close friends and relatives to serve as groomsmen, and it is considered an honor to be selected. From his groomsmen, the groom usuall ...

at the other's wedding. Barack brought his wife,

Michelle Obama Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama ( Robinson; born January 17, 1964) is an American attorney and author who served as the first lady of the United States from 2009 to 2017, being married to Barack Obama, the 44th president of the United Stat ...

, to Kenya three years later, seeing Malik again while meeting many other relatives for the first time. Malik Obama is

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

. Malik Obama lives in the Obamas' ancestral home,

Nyang'oma Kogelo Nyang'oma Kogelo, also known as Kogelo, is a village in Siaya County, Kenya. It is located near the equator, 60 kilometres (37 mi) west-northwest of Kisumu, the provincial capital of the former Nyanza province. The population of Nyangom ...

, a village of several hundred people, preferring its slow pace to that of the city. Until 2004, he ran a small electronics shop a half-hour's drive away in another town. Since 2008, Obama has run the Barack H. Obama Foundation, founded in memory of his father, Barack Obama Sr. Obama is a dual citizen of both Kenya and the United States. He is a frequent visitor to the United States, and works as a consultant in Washington, D.C., for several months each year. He was registered to vote in

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

as of 2016.

Political candidacy and advocacy

During his half brother's 2008 presidential campaign, Malik Obama was a spokesman for the extended Obama family in Kenya. He dealt with safety and privacy concerns arising from the increased attention from the press. In early 2013, Obama ran for governor of the Kenyan county of

Siaya Siaya is a municipality and the capital of Siaya County, Kenya. It is located northwest of Kisumu. The urban center had a population of 33,153 in 2019. Siaya municipality has five wards: Mjini, Siaya Central, Siaya East, Siaya North and Siaya ...

. His campaign slogan was "Obama here, Obama there" in reference to his half-brother who was serving his second term as the President of the United States. Obama garnered 2,792 votes, about 140,000 votes behind the eventual winner. Prior to the

2016 United States presidential election United States presidential election, Presidential elections were held in the United States on November 8, 2016. The Republican Party (United States), Republican ticket of businessman Donald Trump and Indiana Governor, Indiana governor Mike P ...

, Obama stated that he supported

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

, the candidate for the Republican Party. He attended the third presidential debate as one of Trump's guests. On June 12, 2020, Malik Obama reportedly endorsed United States president Donald Trump, and later in the week posted a fake and historically inaccurate birth certificate of Barack Obama in support of the

Barack Obama citizenship conspiracy theories During Barack Obama's campaign for president in 2008, throughout his presidency and afterwards, there was extensive news coverage of Obama's religious preference, birthplace, and of the individuals questioning his religious belief and citiz ...

. The birth certificate alleges the US President was born in the Republic of Kenya in 1961, despite the

Republic of Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. K ...

not being founded until December 12, 1964. The faux Kenyan certificate also contained a seal which read

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

, further affirming its lack of authenticity. His sister

Auma The Adult Use of Marijuana Act (AUMA) (Proposition 64) was a 2016 voter initiative to legalize cannabis in California. The full name is the Control, Regulate and Tax Adult Use of Marijuana Act. The initiative passed with 57% voter approval and b ...

(among others) condemned him for promoting the theory. Since then, he has consistently taken to news sites to express his adverse opinions about his brother, alleging that he made a pact with the Devil.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Obama, Malik 1958 births 21st-century American businesspeople 21st-century American politicians 21st-century Kenyan businesspeople 21st-century Kenyan politicians African-American Muslims American conspiracy theorists American people of Kenyan descent Black conservatism in the United States Kenyan businesspeople Kenyan emigrants to the United States Kenyan Muslims Living people Naturalized citizens of the United States Obama family People from Nairobi People from Siaya County University of Nairobi alumni Maryland Republicans