video transcript

This small village in the Kenyan countryside boasts a special connection to U.S. President Barack Obama. Kogelo is the ancestral village of his father - and the birthplace of the Obama surname. This is John Dima - a respected local witchdoctor who's trying to peer into the future to predict whether Obama will trounce Mitt Romney in his bid for the White House. As his wife offers instructions on the preparation of John's prophetic potions, the witchdoctor says he foresees victory for the President. (SOUNDBITE)(Luo) KOGELO WITCHDOCTOR, JOHN DIMA, SAYING: "His father was my friend; his grandfather was also my good friend. So I predict that Obama will win the presidency, that's all." Thousands celebrated here in 2008 when Obama was elected the first African-American president of the United States. Some here are hurt that he hasn't visited the town where his grandmother still lives since he took office. But most here are still rooting for Obama. One man says he doesn't need magic to predict an outcome, he's instead been keeping an eye on the polls. Obama only visited sub-Saharan African once in his four-year term - a brief stopover in Ghana between summits elsewhere. The region has gone virtually unnoticed as a topic in the U.S. presidential election campaign - sidelined by talk of a stuttering economy, healthcare reform and a dragging war in Afghanistan.