Tribal elder who gave Obama robes defends decision

Nairobi: A Kenyan elder who presented US Senator Barack Obama with a traditional dress insisted the outfit was cultural, not religious, in an article published in a Kenyan newspaper on Saturday.

Pictures of Obama wearing the robe and turban were widely circulated on the internet. A US political blogger said he had received them from two unnamed employees of Obama's rival for the Democratic presidential ticket, Hillary Clinton.

Some commentators suggested that the pictures showed Obama was a Muslim, but retired civil servant Mohammad Hassan Mumin said he had presented gifts of similar clothing to several other leaders, including three Kenyan presidents and a member of the British royal family. The gifts were presented to Obama on a visit to his father's native Kenya in 2006.

In recent weeks, two volunteers on the Clinton campaign resigned after circulating e-mails falsely saying Obama was a Muslim and a threat to national security, and on Friday a senior Obama aide resigned after calling Clinton a "monster" who "is stooping to anything" to get elected. Both campaigns disowned their supporters' remarks.