Sarah Obama, former US President Barack Obama’s grandmother dies in Kisumu aged 99, family says
Sarah Onyango Obama (born c. 1921–1922) was a Kenyan educator and philanthropist.Died in the March 2021. She was the third wife of the paternal grandfather of U.S. president Barack Obama. She was known for short as Sarah Obama; she was sometimes referred to as Sarah Ogwel, Sarah Hussein Obama, or Sarah Anyango Obama. She lives in Nyang’oma Kogelo village, 30 miles west of western Kenya‘s main town, Kisumu, on the edge of Lake Victoria.
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Sarah Onyango Obama
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|---|---|
| Born |
Sarah Okech
c. 1922 |
| Died | March 29, 2021 (aged 99) Kisumu, Kenya
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| Known for | U.S. President Barack Obama‘s step-grandmother |
| Spouse(s) | Hussein Onyango Obama (m.1941; died 1979) |
| Children | 4, including Zeituni |
| Parent(s) | Omar Okech |
Although she is not a blood relation, Barack Obama calls her “Granny Sarah” Sarah, who speaks Luo and only a few words of English, communicates with President BObama through an interpreter.
On July 4, 2008, She attended the United States Independence Day celebrations in Nairobi, hosted by Michael Ranneberger, the U.S. ambassador in Kenya.
During the U.S. presidential campaign, she protested attempts to portray Obama as a foreigner to the United States or as a Muslim, saying that while Obama’s grandfather had been a Muslim, “In the world of today, children have different religions from their parents.” She is “a strong believer of the Islamic faith”, in her words.
On November 19, 2014, She received the Pioneer Award from the United Nations for the work of an education foundation that she heads, as a part of Women’s Entrepreneurship Day
Kenya: Special Report: Sleepy Little Village Where Obama Traces His Own Roots
Nairobi — His sudden rise to stardom has stunned many. Analysts toast him as one of the most brilliant and popular black politicians in the United States in recent times.
Others taunt him as a “skinny kid with a funny name,” whose Kenyan father herded goats and lived in a remote village in Siaya, Nyanza province.
With his cousin Yusuf Okoth Obama, when he visited his father’s home in Alego, Siaya, 10 years ago. e
But excited admirers both in Kenya and the US celebrate him as a political superstar and a beacon of hope for his people.
