The US President’s brother got married during a humble ceremony in Oxford – and received a personal phone call of congratulation from elder sibling Barack.
Ben Obama, 42, took a call from Washington DC from his half-brother to congratulate him on his marriage to Lily Achoch, 33, shortly before the ceremony.
He said: “It was great hearing him, because Barack’s the most important politician in the world and is naturally extremely busy.
“But he took time out for family matters, wishing me and Lily hearty congratulations.
“He told me he was looking forward to meeting her and that will happen soon.
“He hoped Lily and I would enjoy a great life together.”
Ben, who lives in Kenya’s capital, Nairobi, was a guest at the White House in Washington after Barack Obama was elected as America’s first black president.
The property developer owns a restaurant in Nairobi, where he met care worker Lily, from Wantage, Oxfordshire, in 2004.
The couple, who tied the knot on Saturday February 8, have a four-year-old son and a daughter aged eight.
Ben is the son of Barack’s father, Kenyan Barack Senior, and the president’s stepmother Kezia – who moved to Bracknell, Berkshire, from Kenya in 2003.
The pair had a son and daughter before Barack Senior left to study in the United States in 1959 and married Ann Dunham, the President’s mother.
Barack was born in Hawaii in 1961 and Ben was born in Kenya in 1970.
