Barack Obama's half-brother, also known as Abongo or Roy, was born c. March 1958,[111] the son of Barack Obama Sr. and his first wife, Kezia.[115] Malik Obama was born and raised in Nairobi, Kenya.[116] He earned a degree in accounting from the University of Nairobi.[117] The half brothers met for the first time in 1985[116] when Barack flew from Chicago to Washington, D.C., to visit Malik.[118] Malik and his half-brother Barack were best men at each other's weddings.[116] Barack Obama brought his wife Michelle to Kenya three years later, and they met with Malik again while meeting many other relatives for the first time.[119]
Although much of the Obama family has dispersed throughout Kenya and overseas, most, including Malik Obama, still consider their rural village on the shores of Lake Victoria to be their true home. They feel that those who have left the village have become culturally "lost".[120] A frequent visitor to the United States,[119] and a consultant in Washington, D.C., for several months each year,[116] Malik settled in the Obamas' ancestral home, Nyang'oma Kogelo, a village of several hundred people. He prefers its slow pace to that of the city.[116] He runs a small electronics shop a half-hour's drive outside of town.[116]
During his brother's presidential campaign, Malik Obama was a spokesman for the extended Obama family in Kenya. He dealt with safety and privacy concerns arising from the increased attention from the press.[121] He ran for governor of the Kenyan county of Siaya in 2013,[122] and was defeated by a wide margin.[123]