Let's All Laugh About African Politics

It's not really funny, but this story about reforming Kenya's constitution has this key paragraph:

At opposition leader Uhuru Kenyatta's hometown of Gatundu, also in highlands north of Nairobi, most were opposing. "Uhuru has told us to vote 'No'. We will follow him even if he tells us to go to the wilderness," said Sam Kungu, a jobless 32-year-old.

As the article notes, Uhuru Kenyatta is the son of Jomo Kenyatta, Kenya's first post-colonial leader. The word Uhuru means Independence. So to have a politician named Uhuru Kenyatta is roughly equivalent to having an American politician named Independence Washington or something.

You've got to love the gall of naming your kid that. Not that old Jomo was grooming the boy for politics or anything like that...