President Barack Obama (center) greets his half sister Auma Obama (left) while standing alongside Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta upon President Obama’s arrival at Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi July 24, 2015. It is Obama’s first visit to the country of his father’s birth since his election as president.
SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images

President Barack Obama arrived in Kenya at 8:02 p.m. local time (1:02 p.m. EDT) and kicked off his first presidential visit to his ancestral homeland by having dinner with numerous relatives shortly after his arrival. 

The president, dressed in a suit and tie, was seated in the middle of two long tables filled with family members, totaling about three dozen people. Relatives attending the hotel dinner included his stepgrandmother, Mama Sarah, whom Obama calls Granny, and his half sister Auma Obama. The White House pool reports that there were plenty of smiles around the tables as the extended Obama clan waited for dinner to be served. 

Most of the official celebrations to welcome Obama to Kenya will be held Saturday.

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