Nairobi: The Kenyan family of US President
Barack Obama on Friday said they were honoured by the awarding of
the Nobel Peace Prize to their favourite son.
"It is an honour to the family... we are very happy that
one of us has been honoured. We congratulate Barack," Said
Obama, the president's step-brother, said to a news agency.
Said to a news agency that the awarding of the prize to Obama
"touches many people" because the US president represents
"people from different walks of life."
Obama, whose father was Kenyan, is considered a homeboy
in this east African state and his election as the first black
US president was widely celebrated.
His family's village in western Kenya has been declared a
protected area by the government.
The then Illinois senator was given a hero's welcome
during his last visit to the village in 2006 when he visited
his grandmother, Sarah Obama.
Sarah was the third wife of Obama's paternal grandfather,
Hussein Onyango Obama. Although not a blood relation, Obama
often refers to her as his grandmother.
Obama was honoured "for his extraordinary efforts to
strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between
peoples," the head of the Norwegian Nobel Committee Thorbjoern
Jagland said in Oslo.
Bureau Report
First Published: Friday, October 09, 2009, 18:56