Mama Sarah Obama is dead

By Our Correspondent, KISUMU Kenya

Mama Sarah Obama, the grandmother to former US President Barack Obama, has died, the family has said.

Mama Sarah, as she was fondly called, passed away around 4am on Monday while receiving treatment at the Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Teaching and Referral hospital in Kisumu.

She was the third wife of Hussein Obama and she died at the age of 99.

Her daughter Marsat Onyango said her mother had been in poor health for some time.

“It’s true she went to be with her Lord,” Marsat said on phone overcome with emotion.

Mama Sarah had taken up an initiative to care for destitute children as well as helping the widows in Siaya’s Kogelo village.

The family is currently making arrangements to have her buried today at her home in Kogelo village, Siaya County.

A neighbor said she had been battling diabetes and old age for nearly two years that saw her admitted to various hospitals in Siaya and Kisumu.

Last week she was admitted at Avenue hospital before she was moved to Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Teaching and Referral hospital on Friday where she succumbed.

"We are trying to see whether we shall be able to bury her today and if not, we shall bury her tomorrow," a relative said. 

In his condolences to the family, Kenya’s chief opposition leader, Raila Odinga said: “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. In between, she became a symbol of the Resilience and Confidence of the African woman with a unique capacity to face the challenges of life.”

He added that Mama Sarah utilized her grandson President Barack Obama's rise to promote the education of girls and fight social ills through her Foundation.- Africa