"Eat nduma, ugali wimbi: Nandi woman aged 106 says secret to long, healthy life

This story has significance for readers across Kenya and beyond.

- Sarah Wanja, born in 1920, has lived through colonial rule, Kenya's independence and decades of change as a mother of 14

- Her husband served as a colonial police officer and later as a bodyguard to founding President Jomo Kenyatta, bringing the family close to history

- The centenarian credits her remarkable age to traditional whole foods and a peaceful state of mind, and her children say she raised them with firm discipline

A 106-year-old woman from Kapsabet is still on her feet, sharp in memory and steady in spirit, offering a living window into more than a century of Kenyan history.

Sarah Wanja was born in 1920, when Kenya was firmly under British colonial rule, and she has watched the country transform through independence, political change and generational shifts.

Speaking to NTV, the centenarian said she is a mother of 14 children, and the life she has led is anything but ordinary.

A Family Bound to Kenya's Founding Fathers

Her late husband worked as a colonial police officer before his career took a remarkable turn: he was eventually appointed as a personal bodyguard to Kenya's founding President, Jomo Kenyatta. Sarah herself was part of the entertainment group that performed for Kenyatta, placing her at the heart of the post-independence social scene surrounding the country's first leader.

But the family also knew hardship during the colonial era. In 1952, her husband was arrested and detained, and Sarah made the long journey to Kapenguria to visit him in custody. The detention of Jomo Kenyatta and others during the State of Emergency was one of the most turbulent periods in Kenya's colonial history, and the Wanja family lived through its consequences firsthand.

Sarah's Secret to a Long Life

Her children describe growing up in a household governed by clear values. According to them, Sarah was firm and consistent, raising all 14 children with a strong sense of discipline that has stayed with them into adulthood.

As for what has kept her alive and well at 106, Sarah points to two things: her diet and her peace of mind. She has remained loyal to traditional foods throughout her life, favouring arrow roots and traditionally prepared ugali over modern alternatives.

"I eat nduma (arror roots) and ugali ya wimbi (finger millet ugali) to stay strong. I still walk on my own very comfortably, and do a lot of farming," she said.

She believes that a calm, untroubled spirit has been just as important to her longevity as anything she has eaten.

For a woman who visited her husband behind colonial bars, entertained a sitting president and raised a household of 14, the peace she speaks of today feels hard-won and deeply deserved.

Source: TUKO.co.ke

Reporting originally appeared via TUKO. Read the full source for additional context.