Mama Sarah Obama, grandmother to US President Barack Obama, traveled to Nairobi from Kogelo, Siaya County, on Friday, July 24, 2015, to meet her grandson ahead of his scheduled arrival at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) that evening.
According to reports, Mama Sarah had initially planned to travel to Nairobi a day earlier but rescheduled her flight due to security concerns advised by the US Embassy.
Her decision to meet President Obama in Nairobi appeared to confirm the fears of residents in Siaya that the US President would not visit his father's village in Kogelo, despite his promise to do so in 2006 when he visited Kenya as the Senator for Illinois.
Mama Sarah was accompanied on her trip by Siaya Governor Cornel Rasanga, who had been invited by President Uhuru Kenyatta to meet President Obama on Sunday, along with other governors.
