Abon’go Malik Obama, half-brother of former US president Barack Obama, is in the spotlight after declaring he will vote for Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump in the November 5 elections.
“I am Malik Obama. I’m a registered Republican and I’m voting for President Donald Trump,” Malik wrote on the social media site X.
However, this was not the first time he extended support to Trump. He backed the former US president in 2016 as well, saying he supported Trump’s policies, especially his focus on security.
Who is Abon’go Malik Obama?
Born in Kenya, Malik is the son of economist Barack Obama Sr and his first wife Kezia Obama. The Kenyan-American businessman and philanthropist is a US citizen.
He serves as the Lead Ambassador at Puppet, a software configuration management tool, The Times of India reported.
In the US, he has majorly worked as an accountant for organisations in and around Washington DC. Some of these include Lockheed Martin, the American Red Cross and Fannie Mae.
Earlier, Malik tried to run for governor in Kenya’s Siaya district, where his father hailed from. However, he only managed to get 1% of the vote.
As per public records, he still maintains a residence in Maryland and is a registered voter there.
Personal life
Malik has often been in the limelight due to his controversies and political endorsements. His relationship with his half-brother Barack Obama has witnessed several ups and downs.
In 1992, Malik was the best man during Barack’s wedding to Michelle. He even visited the White House during his half-brother’s time in office, New York Post reported.
Earlier, several media reports even suggested that Malik was married to between three and 12 women, but he refuted these claims later.
Malik had a fallout with the former US president after he launched a charity, named Barack H. Obama Foundation. However, he failed to register it and even lied about it being a tax-exempt organisation.
“My brother didn’t help me at all. He wanted me to shut it down when I set it up. He hasn’t supported me at all,” Malik said in an earlier interview.
Malik even added fuel to the conspiracy theory, which was earlier spread majorly by Donald Trump, claiming that Barack Obama was not born in the US and was rather a citizen of Kenya.
To prove his claims, Malik reportedly even shared a fake image of a birth certificate, dated from before the 1964 establishment of the Republic of Kenya. It purportedly showed Barack Obama was born outside the US.
Calling his younger half-sibling a “deep disappointment,” Malik earlier also slammed Hillary Clinton, the 2016 Democratic nominee, for his exit from the party.
