Kenya PM's wife rejects state pay

MPs say the salary of Prime Minister Odinga (l) should also support his wife

The wife of Kenya's prime minister has turned down a controversial monthly allowance of $6,000 (£3,000) offered to her by the government.

Ida Odinga thanked the state for appreciating her role, but said she did not need money for her legacy.

The decision to pay hefty salaries to the wives of the prime minister and vice-president provoked public outrage.

Kenyan tax-payers are already paying heavily for a cabinet with more than 40 ministers - the largest ever.

A government memo directed that the wives of Prime Minister Raila Odinga and Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka be rewarded for their roles as hostesses.

Public duty

The letter, written by the head of the public service, Francis Muthaura, said the pay was supposed to recognise their role in upholding national family values.

"The legacy I have built is not worth $6,000 (£3,000). I thank Mr Muthaura for appreciating that there is a heavy responsibility that comes by virtue of my position. But I will not take the money," Mrs Odinga told Kenya's privately-owned Standard newspaper.

"Kenyans know I have taken care of my husband in good and bad times without help from the state, sometimes in spite of the state. I will continue doing that," she was quoted as saying.

Mrs Odinga runs a family business, Spectre International.

Pauline Musyoka, the vice-president's wife, has not yet commented on the allowance.

"I attend at least three functions a day, each of them public functions. I will continue doing that. I host people in the name of the Republic of Kenya," Mrs Odinga said.

First Lady Lucy Kibaki receives nearly $8,000 a month from the government.

President Mwai Kibaki and Mr Odinga agreed to share power in February after post election violence left some 1,500 people dead and 600,000 displaced.

The government of national unity ended the violence but has been criticised for its huge cost in a country where most people live in poverty.