Obama to talk security, human rights in Kenya

Nairobi

US President Barack Obama is to hold talks in Kenya Saturday on trade and investment, counter-terrorism and human rights, in his first visit to the country of his father's birth since his election as president. 

A massive security operation was under way in Nairobi, with parts of the usually traffic-clogged capital locked down and airspace also closed for the president's landing late Friday and his scheduled departure late Sunday for neighbouring Ethiopia. 

Top of the list of security concerns is Somalia's Al-Qaeda-affiliate, the Shebab, who have staged a string of suicide attacks, massacres and bombings on Kenyan soil, including an attack on a university in April which killed 147 students.

Two years ago the siege of the Westgate shopping mall in the heart of the capital by Shebab left 67 dead. 

Obama was greeted by Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta as he stepped off Air Force One. The president's half-sister Auma was also on the tarmac to welcome him and travel in the bomb-proof presidential limousine, nicknamed 'The Beast', for the drive to the hotel in the city centre, where Obama dined with members of his extended Kenyan family. 

Excitement has been building in Kenya for weeks, with the visit seen as a major boost for the east African nation's position as a regional hub -- something that has taken a battering in recent years due to Shebab attacks and political violence that landed Kenyan leaders in the International Criminal Court.