Obama's half-brother arrested over drugs

Agencies

London: US President Barack Obama's half-brother George Obama was in news last year for spending his life in a corrugated iron shack even as his brother ran for the most powerful job in the world. This year to he hogging the headlines, but for wrong reasons. He has been arrested in Nairobi for alleged possession of marijuana.

The 24-year-old, who was the son of Obama's father by his second wife, denies the allegation and was told that he would face a court hearing on February 2.

Inspector Augustine Mutembei said that the trainee mechanic would face charges of possession of cannabis and resisting arrest.

However, George protested against the charges in comments from jail.

"They took me from my home. I don't know why they are charging me," he said.

According to a relative, George was later released from custody. It was not immediately clear whether his scheduled court appearance on Feb 02 (09) would go ahead.

George was one of the president's few close relatives who did not travel to Washington for the inauguration on January 20.

George and Barack Obama met previously when the latter visited his ancestral homeland in an encounter that he described as a 'painful affair' in his memoir Dreams from My Father.