Kenya: 'I don't know' if Obama born in U.S.

Ambassador Peter Ogego

Kenyan Ambassador Peter N.R.O. Ogego is saying he's "infuriated" by a radio program's efforts to "misquote" him on the subject of President-elect Barack Obama's birthplace – but he refused to confirm whether Obama was born in the United States.

In an exclusive interview with WND today, Ogego was specifically asked whether Obama is a natural-born U.S. citizen.

"I don't know," he said with a tone of irritation. "You should ask your government. I know his father is Kenyan."

He continued with a rhetorical question: "Obama is an American, isn't he?"

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On Nov. 6, only two days after the election, Detroit radio talk-show hosts Mike Clark, Trudi Daniels and Marc Fellhauer on WRIF's "Mike In The Morning" called the Embassy of Kenya in Washington, D.C., to speak with Ambassador Ogego.

The interview with the Kenyan ambassador was widely publicized after he called President-elect Barack Obama's Kenyan birthplace a "well-known" attraction:

Clark: "We want to congratulate you on Barack Obama, our new president, and you must be very proud."

Ogego: "We are. We are. We are also proud of the U.S. for having made history as well."

Fellhauer: "One more quick question, President-elect Obama's birthplace over in Kenya, is that going to be a national spot to go visit, where he was born?"

Ogego: "It's already an attraction. His paternal grandmother is still alive."

Fellhauer: "His birthplace, they'll put up a marker there?"

Ogego: "It would depend on the government. It's already well known."

Now Ogego is saying the hosts misquoted and edited the audio recording of his comments.

"I'm already infuriated by the whole thing," he said. "The radio itself had a cynicism to it. I didn't mind that, but to misquote me is unacceptable. They are circulating misinformation regarding Mr. Obama's birthplace."

However, WRIF's Mike Clark told WND the show never manipulated the audio recording in any way.

"I can assure you that nothing was edited or stated out of context," he said.

Nonetheless, Ogego insisted he was speaking about Barack Obama Sr., and not President-elect Obama.

"They asked me about Obama's father, not Obama," Ogego said. "This is common-sense knowledge. Nobody is fooling anybody."

But Clark said Ogego's claim that he was speaking about Barack Obama Sr. doesn't add up.

"If you listen to the call in its entirety, you will find it was very obvious we were all talking about President-elect Barack Obama and not his father," Clark said. "So, the idea that he thought we were talking about his father seems a little farfetched to me."

Clark said Ogego's statement that Obama's Kenyan birthplace was already an attraction caught them off guard.

"The point is, we expected him to say, 'No. Obama was not born in Kenya, but there is an attraction to honor his father.' I would have thought that would have been the answer if anything," he said.

The issue of Obama's place of birth has been heating up since WND senior reporter Jerome Corsi traveled to Kenya and Hawaii prior to the election to investigate issues surrounding Obama's birth.

When asked if birth records for President-elect Obama exist in Kenya, Ogego replied, "I don't know about all that."

WND asked Ogego why Obama's birth records have been sealed.

"Let's not get into that," he replied. "We will not be dragged into unnecessary information. Somebody has a right to those details – the American government or the Kenyan government – if it is that important."

Ogego refused to discuss the matter further and ended the call.