Let The Man Speak

As we ready ourselves to welcome guest number one for the Republic of Kenya, the president of the United States, there's all sorts of feelings being expressed in the media and in the (mtaani), street fora mainly to do with what he's expected to talk about.
Other concerns are to do with where he's going to visit, who he's going to meet etc. It is very obvious that Kenyans have not had such degree of interest on a state guest and it is obvious the feelings they have towards their 'prodigal son', Mr Obama.

Mr Obama is definitely the highest level opinion shaper we have had in the recent past and it goes without saying his opinion on any issue would be scrutinized with a microscope and some in the policy making positions might be tempted to treat his opinion(s) as sacrosanct, such polarizing issues like LGBT rights is bound to prick sensitive nerves and the heat therein is already being felt judging from the demonstrations being held in opposition/support of imagined preferences expected of the POTUS.

We, as a nation have suddenly forgotten that we have more pressing issues that Mr Obama would be better off addressing, issues that he might deliberately ignore or forget, issues that might be masked or blanketed out by the non-issues we are raising;
- What role is the US planning on taking as innocent Kenyans face the wrath of US' enemies in its proxy wars fighting against Islamic extremists?
- As poor people globally continue suffering from the extremes of the weather, caused by global warming, is the US-a major contributor to the causes of weather changes, doing enough to cushion the marginalized populations?
- Does the US acknowledge its role as a co-conspirator in global corruption? A major cause of the prevalent abject poverty among the most vulnerable populations?
- As he pushes for the finalization of the TPP-TransPacific trade Partnership, does he agree that Africa would benefit from an AGOA that is more tilted towards giving African production more advantage than US consumption?

Whatever Mr Obama believes as far as LGBT rights are concerned are his personal opinion and should remain as such. We already know his position from past proclamations and we should not be flustered by repetitions of such views. We know our own convictions and all we need to do is be alert  and vigilant that our institutions don't get swayed by foreign ideologies while formulating policy or the law.
Entrenched in our constitution is the freedom of speech and expression and these freedoms ought to be afforded to all-the POTUS included.