NAIROBI, Oct. 8 (Xinhuanet) -- Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki on Friday congratulated Wangari Maathai, the assistant minister for environment and natural resources, for becoming the first African woman to win the prestigious Nobel Peace Prize, the Presidential Press Service said.

    Speaking during a brief ceremony held in Nairobi to honor the Nobel laureate, Kibaki commended Maathai for her for dedication inenvironmental conservation and urged other Kenyans to emulate her good work.

    "She deserves the international award since she has been working very hard planting trees and being in the forefront in conserving the environment," the president said.

    He said the award was a great honor not only to Maathai but to Kenya and Africa as a whole.

    In this regard, the president called on Kenyans to re-dedicate their efforts in conserving the environment as a way of appreciating the award.

    Maathai was laureated the 2004 Nobel Peace Prize by the Norwegian Nobel committee in Oslo on Friday.

    She won the honor "for her contribution to sustainable development, democracy and peace," the Nobel committee said in a citation.

    Maathai said that the award was not only in recognition of her work as an environmentalist but was also in honor of the work of all the environmentalists both in Kenya and the world.

    She said that part of the prize would be dedicated to the conservation of the environment and cultural activities that discourage the degradation of forests. Enditem