Be a crocodile

“The mamba” means “crocodile” in Swahili, and refers to the name of the gang that used to run in Huruma, Nairobi.  This gang was led by George Hussein Obama, who was the first slum gangster in Nairobi and who is the President of the United States Barack Obama’s half brother. They have the same father, but as life has shown they have completely different lifestyles. One is the well known first black President of the USA, while the other lives in poverty in the Huruman ghetto.

George Obama is no longer a criminal and outlaw. After being jailed, he turned his world around and stayed as the leader of Africa’s most lawless, poor and brutal district, as he did not agree how the local police and politicians treated people. He is an informal president of the slums in Nairobi. He lives with his people and deals with poverty, starvation and injustice which cause crimes. He rarely tries to change this and makes it work better for people. He is powerful and influential, even if he doesn’t live as his brother in the White House, filled with richness and prosperity.

This play is a real-life story which compares two separate worlds of two completely different people, who are determined to be the leaders. George works to improve the lives of the people of the area he lives in and he has become an inspiration to them. Barack looks for reelection in the USA. 

Their characters are dramatized by the brilliant role of George played by Clifford Samuel. “Obama the Mamba” is a monodrama, so the way of playing it is essential. During the 2 hours of the show Clifford is a child with dreams, a schoolboy with plans, a frustrated teenager without hope, a young adult making his first decisions and commits his first crimes. He is a looser who has been caught, a man who discovers that the relationship with his brother doesn’t exist  and finally a charismatic and smart fugleman of the lost nation.

This story raises some fundamental questions about who we are, what we look like, where we come from, what family means and how powerful the influence is. 

"Obama the Mamba" was played in the Curve Theatre in Leicester as one of the "Black History Season" events. One of the shows was followed by the meeting with George Hussein Obama himself.