President Obama’s aunt, Zeituni Onyango, died at a rehabilitation hospital on Monday, according to her immigration lawyer Margaret Wong. She was 61-years-old.
According to WCVB:
Onyango died Monday at a rehabilitation hospital after being treated for cancer and respiratory ailments, according to Wong’s office.
Onyango, 61, who was born in Kenya in 1952, was granted asylum in 2010 after her first asylum request in 2002 was rejected and she was ordered to be deported in 2004.
She did not leave the country and continued to live in public housing in Boston. Her status was revealed just days before Obama was elected in November 2008.
At the time, then-candidate Obama said he did not know his aunt was living in the country illegally and that he believes laws covering the situation should be followed.
Onyango was the stepsister of the President’s late father, Barack Obama Sr. Her funeral arrangements have not been announced.
May she rest in peace.
SOURCE: WCVB | PHOTO CREDIT: Handout
