U.S. president ends Kenya visit

U.S. President Barack Obama left Kenya on Sunday afternoon after his three-day visit, his first visit as president to the country of his father's birth.

Obama left the country for Ethiopia, the second stop of his tour, where he will attend bilateral meetings with Ethiopian and African Union leaders.

During his visit, the U.S. leader opened the 6th Global Entrepreneurship Summit, held bilateral talks with Kenyan officials and later addressed Kenyans including civil society organizations.

In his speech Sunday to Kenyans, Obama praised Kenya for its regional leadership and said that the country is headed for a bigger global role.

"Kenya's future is filled with hope. You are poised for a bigger role in the world," he said.

Obama said the U.S. government is grateful for the role Kenya has played in the African Union Mission in Somalia that is stabilizing the Horn of Africa country. He said the U.S. government will stand by Kenya in combating the threat posed by terrorists.

Washington also pledged to provide more funds for the war against terrorism and also increase training for Kenyan security forces.

Obama said corruption will remain an impediment to the realization of the Kenyan dream if Kenyans don't unite against the vice.

He applauded Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta's anti-corruption campaign, and called on all Kenyans to rally behind the call to tackle the vice, adding that corruption is not unique to Kenya alone but it should not be tolerated anywhere.

The need to empower women was also a major theme of Obama's lecture. He called on Kenyan communities to abandon retrogressive cultural practices like female genital mutilation and early marriage to ensure women get equal treatment as men. Endit