KAMPALA, Uganda - The common greeting here is "Oli otya," Luganda for "How are you?" But now most American visitors are greeted with a different question: "How is Obama?"

That is what Gerald Bareebe, a 24-year-old senior at Makerere University, asked of a visiting lecturer from SIUC recently.

Never mind that Obama, whose father was from Kenya, has never been to Uganda, or that Bareebe has never visited Kenya. Africans see the candidacy of an African American as historical and one in which they have a vested interest.

Bernard Sabiti, 25, a tall articulate Ugandan professional who hosts a radio talk show in his native Rufumbira dialect urging the practice of abstinence in the battle against HIV, has taken up a new pastime, as the leader of the Ugandans For Obama.

"I have always been impressed with Obama and one day I was at a pub and when the news came on about the U.S. elections everyone gathered around to watch," Sabiti said. "This has now become my passion. I placed a few posters around the university asking if people are interested in the election, or if they simply admire him, they should send me an e-mail."

Sabiti had more than a hundred responses. UFO is not a political group; it is simply a group of folks who are interested in the U.S. elections and most of all in Barack Obama.

"We don't have an office, just a passion, we admire him, he is like a rock star," Sabiti said. "We admire his honesty; that is a rare thing in a politician.

"The president of the United States is in a position to affect the lives of people around the world, and certainly here in Africa," Sabiti said.

Mawa Haruna, 24, a university junior, also has noticed the keen interest.

"It is not just those in the universities, or those in business who are following the election. If you go to St. Balikuddembe, the main market in Kampala you will find many people who have never set their eyes on a blackboard, who cannot read a newspaper, but they can tell you who Barack Obama is," Haruna said.

"If he is elected then we feel that more attention will be paid to the problems of Africa," Haruna said. "The United States is the leader of the world and now there is a real chance that the leader of the U.S. will have roots in Africa."

His name reaches far beyond Kenya the homeland of Obama's father. Kiswahili (often called Swahili) has become a common language throughout East Africa and beyond, as far as South Africa, north to Sudan and into central Africa's Rwanda and Congo, Haruna explained.

"As soon as an African hears the name Barack they recognize his African roots, it means 'blessed' in Kiswahili," Haruna said.

There is little doubt of the growth of Kiswahili on the African continent; the Voice of America radio broadcasts news for an hour daily in the language. Relatively inexpensive, radio is a primary source of information, from large urban centers to the mud hut villages.

In the days after the Illinois primary election, an SIUC lecturer headed to Uganda, salvaged two of the ubiquitous blue and white "Obama '08" road signs from a ditch on Illinois 13 to take along, hoping it would satisfy several requests for Obama T-shirts received from Ugandan friends.

The simple signs were more than a hit.

Markerere University, with 35,000 students, is the largest in Uganda and among the five largest on the continent. March is the time for the annual campus election for president of the Guild, a union of students that holds great power.

Supporters of one of the candidates, Robert Rutaro, liken him to Obama. During a recent motorcade through the campus with trucks fitted with public address systems escorting the candidate standing through the sunroof of a white SUV, the chant began "Obama! Obama! Obama!"

Hearing the chant, several of the recipients of the discarded Illinois primary placards waved them from windows of a campus building.

When they caught the eye of the passing campaigners, a cheer went up, several people rushed into the building offering to purchase the signs.

No deal.

Support is not universal, however. Mwesigye Gumisiriza, 34, a university administrator, acknowledges he is in a small minority.

"I may be the only one of my friends who does not like him," Gumisiriza said. "I think it is tokenism. The election of a black man will not improve life for blacks in the U.S. or in Africa."

In Kampala, and elsewhere in Africa, Obama supporters have no illusions about their activities. They cannot vote and will likely have no impact on the race half way around the world.

"We have a lot of interest, I think when the convention comes, if he is the candidate we may have events here, social gatherings where we watch the speeches on big TVs in a large tent.

"We know the reality, but it is still important to us, he has already made history, even if he does not win there is a place for Obama in the history of America, he has already made history. He transcends the civil rights movement. He inspires.

"In Africa look around - you see these little kids, children in poor villages without parents. What hope do they have? Barack Obama says to them that you do not have to be born into an elite class.

"He tells them 'Look here, you can make it in life,'" Sabiti said.

William "Bill" Recktenwald is a senior lecturer in journalism at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. He will report periodically for The Southern Illinoisan while on assignment in Uganda.