Tributes paid to late Nyafwono, 100-year-old mother of three priests

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With a teaching career spanning 38 years, Christina Nyafwono Oburu's long life was one of dedication and admirable impact, especially in her native Tororo in Uganda's east.

The people of Tororo, in different capacities, are now paying tribute to a woman who touched many lives and has died at the age of 100, three months shy of adding another year.

News of the centenarian's death in Entebbe on Tuesday (May 26) triggered an outpouring of tributes from those who knew her.

“I have known Maama Christina for many years. When I was doing my pastoral work in their parish 24 years ago, I used to stay with them at their home," said Fr John Richard Owor, a parish priest of St Maria Goretti in Kibuku district under the Archdiocese of Tororo.

He remembered a prayerful woman who did not miss daily Mass and one who loved to pray through Mother Mary and St Jude Thaddeus.

"She loved her husband very much. She raised her children well and played a good role as a mother."

Maama Christina Nyafwono Oburu, 100 years, reads the New Vision Paper. (Photo by Juliet Anna Lukwago)

Nyafwono was a mother of three priests: Fr Matthew Bernard Mary Okoth, Fr Andrew Onyango and Fr Emmanuel Omollo.

She has been described as a dedicated and service-oriented woman who not only advanced education in Tororo district, but also positively impacted the community she was living with.

'Very creative'

To people like Sarah Opondo, Nyafwono stood out as a role model.

Now a businesswoman in Tororo, Opondo was taught reading and numbers by Nyafwono at Magola Primary School in the early 1980s.

"She was very creative and lovely to us as kids. I remember her teaching us reading through songs and signs using manila scripts.

"She taught us songs to welcome high-profile visitors at school and taught us to pray before eating food."

Another of Nyafwono's sons, Timothy Kirya Jadwong, believes his mother's spirit of hard work likely had a role in her long life.

"She was very strong-willed in every sense. Her mind was still so active, despite the heart illness she developed," he said, making reference to the eventual cause of her death.

Maama Christina Nyafwono Oburu. (Courtesy)

'Motherly'

Nyafwono was also a primary school teacher of Fr Romanus Olweny, who is now 65.

"She was a very good friend to my parents. She was the only female teacher at our school," he said.

"She was motherly to all of us, was a kind lady to me and my siblings and showed us true love after the death of our parents. She encouraged me, and she cried with me in my pain. 

"And she was a prayerful lady."

Whenever Olweny paid her a visit at home, he would find her in a quiet room reciting the rosary. 

He recalled a selfless and charitable woman who opened her doors to everyone and offered free food to members of her community.

Funeral arrangements have yet to be announced as people continue to reflect on a life well lived.

Nyafwono at a glance

Born on September 10, 1925, to Raphael Onyango Kirya and Susan Aketch, Nyafwono was the third-born in a family of five biological children: three girls and two boys.

She started school late, and after completing primary school, she attended Nnyondo Teacher Training College in pursuit of a Grade II teaching career.

After completing the course, Nyafwono was posted to Nagongera Girls where she taught for several years, before being transferred to different schools in Tororo district.

She harboured fond memories of working as a teacher and as a senior woman.

She was 31 when she got married to her late husband, Peter Oburu, on June 30, 1957. Oburu was a special minister in church, authorised to serve the Holy Communion to the Christians and to preach the word of God.

Altogether, she was a mother of nine children, including the three priests and Jadwong. The others are George Kirya Owor, Catherine Awor, Joseph Ofumbi Omondo, the late Richard Othieno and the late Ambrose Mbusa.