She was a powerhouse in her community for promoting education as a way of empowering
the less fortunate. And while that work made Sarah Obama something of a celebrity in Kenya,
she was known in the United States for a very different reason. Sarah, who was also known
as "Mama Sarah," appeared as "Granny" in the book Dreams From My Father, written by her
step-grandson Barack Obama. Mama Sarah's death on March 29th spurred the former president
to take to social media to mourn her passing. He wrote on Twitter:
"My family and I are mourning the loss of our beloved grandmother, Sarah Ogwel Onyango
Obama, affectionately known to many as 'Mama Sarah' but known to us as 'Dani' or Granny.
We will miss her dearly, but we'll celebrate with gratitude her long and remarkable life."
Barack Obama's half-sister, Auma , also posted a memorial on Twitter, calling Mama Sarah:
"The most important person in my life [...] my inspiration, my rock, my comfort zone [and]
my safe space."
In his book, Barack Obama chronicled the difficulties he often encountered when he tried to speak
with his grandmother and told of an awkwardness that later turned into affection. Mama Sarah
even traveled to the United States to see her step-grandson sworn in as the country's
first African American President in 2009.
"I appreciate it is a tough race, but I pray to God he emerges victorious. And I am actually
confident he will win."
On a later trip to his family's home in Kogelo , President Obama was caught on camera laughing
and dancing with his grandmother during the inauguration of a local youth center. He had
visited Kogelo at his grandmother's request.
Mama Sarah had been ill in the week leading up to her death, and a family spokesman clarified
that she did not die from COVID-19. Her daughter, Marsat Onyango, confirmed that she passed
away while under the care of doctors at Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Teaching and Referral hospital
in Kisumu , Kenya.
Mama Sarah, a devout Muslim, had previously worked as a cook for British missionaries
in her home country. But it was her experience raising the former president's father, Barack
Obama Sr., that inspired her life's work. As she told Leaders:
"When he was nine years old, I would take Barack Obama Sr. on my bike about nine kilometers
to a primary school way off my homestead. I would do this every day so he could get
an education that I was denied."
Mama Sarah soon began to advocate for literacy rights, particularly for the girls and orphans
who lived around her village. She spent decades raising or helping those same orphans by providing
them with food and education. In a 2014 interview with NPR, Obama's grandmother described her
work, saying:
"I encourage [girls] — even the ones who have had families at a young age — I encourage
them to go to school so that the cycle of poverty can end."
That same year, the United Nations awarded Sarah Obama with the Women's Entrepreneurship
Day Education Pioneer Award. During her life, she became such a prominent national figure
in Kenya that The Guardian once described her as being embedded in the country's national
mythology. As such, her passing has been marked by many of Kenya's most prominent politicians.
Former Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga called Sarah Obama "a matriarch who lived
ahead of her time" in his Twitter tribute. Meanwhile, Kenyan senator and human rights
activist James Orengo tweeted his condolences, praising Mama Sarah's "magnetic personality
and ability to care deeply for others." For his part, the governor of Kenya's Mombasa
County, Hassan Joho , wrote on Twitter that:
"[She] will always remain a symbol of strength, kindness and humility."
Finally, Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta paid tribute to Sarah Obama, saying:
"The passing away of Mama Sarah is a big blow to our nation. We've lost a strong, virtuous
woman. A matriarch who held together the Obama family and was an icon of family values."
Many of the former president's followers also took to social media to console Barack Obama
over the death of Mama Sarah. CNN reports that the Obama family matriarch will be buried
immediately in accordance with Islamic rites.