leader Obama says his first trip to Sub-Saharan Africa won't include a stop in his father's Kenyan homeland because of his view that the violence-plagued country still has a long way to go in becoming a free and open democracy.

Obama will make a stop in Ghana next week at the end of a trip to Russia and Italy. In an interview with allafrica.com, he said Kenya's leaders "do not seem to be moving into a permanent reconciliation that would allow the country to move forward."

Earlier this year, a U.N. investigator found what he called a "systematic, widespread and carefully planned strategy" of executions by Kenyan police in the wake of the country's most recent election. Shortly after the report was released, two men who had provided evidence were shot and killed in an attack near the home of leader Mwai Kibaki. More than 1,200 people have died in attacks following the December, 2007, election.