Kenya vice-president's legacy row

The state funeral in Kitale followed two weeks of mourning

A ceremony to mark the death of Kenya's vice-president has ended in chaos as his family squabbles over who should inherit his clothes.

Members of Michael Wamalwa's clan accused his widow Yvonne of hiding some of his belongings and told her to distribute everything.

They produced a list including shirts, jackets, shoes and mosquito nets.

BBC News Online's Kariuki wa Mureithi says such inheritance rows are common, especially in western Kenya.

He says that traditionally, the clan of a deceased man would distribute his belongings but now, as more women become educated, widows are standing up for their rights.

Many Kenyans do not believe in making wills, on the grounds that it might tempt fate.

Designer clothes

Mrs Wamalwa refused to take part in some traditional rites, such as bathing in a river and washing her late husband's clothes two days after he died.

"I am a Christian and I don't believe in those things," she was quoted as saying by the Daily Nation newspaper.

Wamalwa was instrumental in President Kibaki's election victory

One relative demanded a grey jacket Wamalwa had been photographed in but which was not among the clothes presented for distribution at the Sisinini ceremony, 40 days after his burial.

Mrs Wamalwa told the East African Standard that some of her late husband's designer clothes would be distributed to his sons, Big and Small William.

Wamalwa was known for the stylish clothes he used to wear.

The distribution of clothes had to be suspended because of the chaos.

Following his death in August, his clan rejected government calls for him to become the first person to be buried in the new Heroes' Square in the capital, Nairobi.

Wamalwa was extremely popular and there were chaotic scenes at the viewing of his body, both in Nairobi and his home district of Bungoma.

He was instrumental in President Mwai Kibaki's election victory last December, ending 40 years of rule by the Kanu party.