Kenyan babies named 'AirForceOne' after Obama's plane

KISUMU, Kenya, July 28 (UPI) -- A number of newborn Kenyans' names honor the visit of U.S. President Barack Obama, but two were named after Obama's plane on Tuesday.

Two new mothers in Kisumu, Kenya, named their sons after Air Force One, the presidential Boeing 747, shortly after Obama arrived in Nairobi Friday.

"I have decided to call my baby Air Force One Barack Obama so that we can all remember Obama's visit to Kenya because it is a huge blessing, said Lucy Akinyi Okoth. Another mother, Lucy Atieno, said of her son AirForceOne, "I have been told that it is the best aeroplane because it carries a very powerful leader of America who is also a Kenyan."

The two babies named after the aircraft were born at Jaramogi Oginga Referral Hospital in Kisumu Friday. So were six others named in honor of Obama's visit, including one named Michelle, after First Lady Michelle Obama; another named Malia, after the Obama's eldest daughter, and Malia Sasha, honoring both the Obama's daughters.

The president's historic trip to Kenya and Ethiopia included a speech before the Global Entrepreneurship Summit in Nairobi and an open disagreement with Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta over Kenya's anti-gay policies. At a meeting of the African Union in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Obama called on African leaders to end a "cancer of corruption" which he said has been stalling progress in Africa.