Nairobi - US President Barack Obama's Kenyan family on Friday expressed their pride at his being a awarded the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize.

"We are very proud about the award for Barak. This is a great honour," Obama's uncle Said Obama, who lives in Kogelo village in western Kenya along with Obama's step grandmother Sarah Obama.

Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki, in a congratulatory note to Obama, meanwhile said: "The award is indeed another milestone in your illustrious public career and recognition of the contribution you are making to the well being of humanity."

Kibaki added that he did not doubt that the prize would "give new impetus to your efforts to bring about lasting peace where war has ravaged communities over long periods of time."

Obama, whose late father was Kenyan, is a celebrated figure in the East African country, which he has visited on several occasions.

In 2004, Kenyan environmental activist Wangari Maathai became the first African woman ever to win the Nobel Prize for Peace. She was among the first to congratulate Obama following the surprise announcement. (dpa)