QUOTE:
Published on: Saturday, 15th November, 2008 - The New Vision
“There is a young man on my campaign whose grandfather lives in Uganda. He is 81 years old and has never experienced true democracy in his lifetime. During the reign of Idi Amin, he was literally hunted and the only reason he escaped was thanks to the kindness of others and a few good-sized trunks.
And on the night of the Iowa caucuses, that 81-year-old man stayed up until five in the morning, huddled by his television, waiting for the results. The world is watching what we do here.”
Senator Barack Hussein Obama told his supporters during a rally.
The Ugandan young man Obama referred to is David Zikusoka, 25, an International Relations graduate from Harvard University, where Obama also received his law degree, currently living in the US.
His grandfather, who stayed up late huddled by his TV set, is Reverend Canon Engineer James Zikusoka, the father of engineering in Uganda, who founded the Uganda Institute of Professional Engineers.
In an interview with Sunday Vision, the veteran engineer recalled how he monitored the historical elections so closely that he was able to predict the final results long before they were released.
In a personally signed note, delivered in May, Obama thanked the veteran Ugandan engineer for the “inspiration”. The engineer wrote back in June, wishing the senator success in his campaign.
Once his application was accepted, David Zikusoka was assigned to work with Obama’s campaign team in fours states namely; Ohio, Illinois, Iowa and Indiana, all traditional Republican strongholds. Incidentally, Obama won all the four with a comfortable margin.
“My nephew David Zikusoka was a member of the President Elect campaign team — and as a family we are extremely proud of his achievement. He just graduated in International Relations from Harvard University” said Irene Zikusoka, who used to work at Uganda television (UTV).
Last month engineer Zikusoka travelled to the US to follow the elections at close quarters, and hopes to travel back in January to witness Obama’s inauguration.
“Obama’s victory is not just for Americans, but the entire world. He is a peace loving man and his victory is our victory,” urged the veteran engineer.
“African leaders must realise that time has come for young people to take over leadership. Obama came at the right time, when the entire world needs him. He is intelligent, charismatic, disciplined, energetic and a great orator, who believes in fair play and is genuinely concerned about the well being of all people.”
Born to a Kenyan father, Obama’s election as the first US Black president has drawn massive excitement across the world.
