Anti-Obama Author Arrested in Kenya, Deported
Posted on October 9, 2008
American journalist and author Jerome Corsi, who wrote a bestselling book critical of Barack Obama, was arrested by Kenyan police while on his way to a book signing. He was immediately deported.
Jerome Corsi arrived in the country last week to promote The Obama Nation: Leftist Politics and the Cult of Personality, an error-riddled book that recently became a bestseller in the US. It falsely claims that Obama, who is revered in Kenya, was raised as a Muslim, and smears the prime minister, Raila Odinga, the country's most popular politician.You may remember Corsi as the co-author of Unfit for Command: Swift Boat Veterans Speak Out Against John Kerry, a book which helped derail John Kerry's quest for the presidency. Corsi claimed that he was invited to Nairobi by missionaries concerned about the rise of Islam. We're thinking he should cross Kenya off the itinerary for his next book tour.Corsi had said that he also planned to deliver a $1,000 (�570) cheque from a conservative website owner to George Obama, the presidential candidate's half-brother who lives in the Kenyan capital's Huruma slum. But by widely publicising his itinerary, Corsi, whether intentionally or not, attracted government attention. Immigration police detained him at a luxury hotel which was due to host the book launch yesterday.
Ministry officials, denying the book had anything to do with the arrest, said Corsi had failed to obtain a temporary work permit. He was later taken to Jomo Kenyatta international airport, where he was expected to catch a flight to Europe.