Mama Sarah Obama dies aged 99

Mama Sarah Onyango Obama is dead, the family has confirmed.

She was the grandmother to Barack Obama, the former President of the United States.

Mama Sarah Obama. [File, Standard]

Mama Sarah has been ailing for a while and died while undergoing treatment at Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Teaching and Referral Hospital in Kisumu county.

She was the third wife of Hussein Obama, Barack Obama's father. She died at the age of 99 and was a Muslim. 

Sheikh Musa Ismail Haji, Chairman of the Kisumu Muslim Association, said Mama Sarah will be buried according to Muslim religious customs at her home in Kogelo on Tuesday, March 30.

Ward 7 at Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Teaching and Referral Hospital where the body of Sarah Obama is said to be lying. The family is in a meeting deliberating on the burial arrangements. [Kevine Omollo, Standard]

In his condolence message, President Uhuru Kenyatta mourned the Obama family matriarch as an icon of family values and a philanthropist whose contribution to the progress of the Kenyan nation shall be dearly missed.

President Uhuru Kenyatta when he conferred the Order of the Burning Spear to Mama Sarah Obama at State House, Nairobi on April 11, 2017. [File, Standard]

Former Prime Minister and ODM leader Raila Odinga has mourned Mama Sarah as a “matriarch who lived ahead of her time” and “a symbol of the resilience and confidence of the African woman with a unique capacity to face the challenges of life.”

In the passing of Mama Sarah Obama, we have lost a matriarch who lived ahead of her time. She single-handedly kept the family going long after the husband departed. pic.twitter.com/v2AxeNKw6N

— Raila Odinga (@RailaOdinga) March 29, 2021

The late Mama Sarah's home in Kogelo. [Olivia Odhiambo, Standard]

Kisumu Governor Prof Anyang’ Nyong’o described her as a motherly figure to many and a philanthropist who helped to mobilize funds to pay school fees for many and vulnerable children. She also supported many widows.

Relatives mourn Mama Sarah Obama at her home in Kogelo. [Olivia Odhaimbo, Standard]