NAIROBI, Kenya, Oct 9 – 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, told AFP.
Said told AFP 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.
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