State House spokesman Manoah Esipisu on Monday made the announcement just moments after the White House confirmed the visit, which is entirely tied to the annual global event that has been running since 2009.

President Obama’s father is Kenyan and he has many relatives in the country.

The announcement was greeted with some excitement not just in Nyanza, the ancestral home of Barrack Obama Senior, the President’s father, but in all parts of the country.

President Kenyatta’s administration is in the thick of a crackdown on rampant corruption in the government.

Mr Kenyatta has suspended just under a third of his Cabinet after they were named in a secret dossier by the anti-corruption authorities.

A case previously seen as an international eyesore, which President Kenyatta faced at the International Criminal Court, has been terminated.

It will be the fourth time President Obama, who has avoided Kenya during his previous visits, will be in a sub-Saharan country.

Mr Esipisu, who was accompanied by the Kenyan Ambassador to the US, Mr Robinson Githae and US ambassador to Kenya Robert Godec, said that President Obama’s visit is the result of an invitation President Kenyatta extended to the US leader during the US-Africa Summit in Washington last year.

Said Mr Esipisu: “The White House has confirmed that President Obama will visit Kenya to attend this year’s Global Entrepreneurship Summit (GES) which will be held in Nairobi.”

'GOOD AND POSITIVE'

Cord leader Raila Odinga welcomed the decision by Mr Obama to attend the 2015 Global Entrepreneurship Summit in Nairobi.

“It is great because he is coming to the home of his ancestry. This is good and positive. However, I wish he came for an official visit before the end of his term for at least two days,” said Mr Odinga.

Obama is pictured here during a 1988 trip at his family home in the Kenyan homestead of Alego. From L to R are Barack Obama, Grandmother Sarah,  Auma Obama (Barack's half sister) and Kezia Obama (Barack's stepmother). Photo by Coiurtesy/Daily Mail

“He has made official visits to Tanzania, South Africa and Ghana. We would be more glad if he visited officially.”

The US previously isolated Kenya from its plans due to various governance issues said to have been in conflict with various US policies, including corruption and human rights concerns during the former President Moi and President Kibaki’s regimes.

The American ambassador, for his part, enumerated the importance of the Obama visit to the country, saying it will be the first time by an American president.

“President Obama will travel to Kenya in July, where he will hold bilateral meetings and will participate in the Global Entrepreneurship Summit. His visit will build on the success of the August, 2014 US summit,” said Mr Godec.

The US diplomat said Kenya will also become the first country in sub-Saharan Africa to host the summit, which will bring together several leaders and entrepreneurs from around the world.

“His visit will build on the success of the August, 2014 US-Africa Leaders Summit and will continue our efforts to work with countries in sub-Saharan Africa, including Kenya, to accelerate economic growth, strengthen democratic institutions, and improve security,” said Mr Godec.

Organised annually since 2009, the GES has emerged as a global platform connecting emerging entrepreneurs with leaders from business, international organisations, and governments looking to support them. 

In this August 25, 2006 photo Senator Obama is greated by an enthusistic crowd in Nairobi. During the long-promised visit this July, Obama will attend a Global Entrepreneurship Summit in the east African nation. PIC BY COURTESY/DAILY MAIL

Earlier in Washington, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest officially announced Obama’s visit which he said would be a move to accelerate growth, security and strengthen democracy in the region.

It was not immediately clear whether the visit, expected between July 24 and 26 would include stopovers by the world’s most powerful leader in other regional countries.

Kenya’s closest neighbours, Tanzania and Uganda, have several times hosted US Presidents.

Last year President Obama was in South Africa for the burial of former South African President Nelson Mandela.

In 2013 he visited Tanzania in a trip that also included Senegal and South Africa. He previously toured Egypt and Ghana.

Last year’s summit was held in Marrakech, Morocco that saw nearly 4,000 entrepreneurs and business, government, and thought leaders attend.

Visiting alongside the US president will be some of America’s top entrepreneurs as well as the US Secretary of Commerce Ms Penny Pritzker, among others.