There was confusion at Nyamira District Hospital mortuary when two families arrived with coffins to collect a woman’s body.

The uncertainty was sparked by a disagreement over a dowry payment dispute pitting the two families.

Mr Martin Mwenda’s relatives and friends had a rude shock when they arrived at the morgue to collect the body of Mary Monyangi only to find that their in-laws were also there for the same.

Mwenda’s relatives were accused of not paying dowry as required by Kisii customary laws before they could be allowed to inter her body.

Mr Monyancha Migosi, the father to the deceased and his son George Monyancha, said they had demanded for two cows as the bride price before they could allow Mwenda’s family to take the body to her marital home in Bogitaa village, Kisii District, for burial.

"Because they refused to pay the dowry, we started burial arrangements in our home," Migosi said.

The standoff paralysed services at the mortuary for several hours as the two parties tried to strike an agreement.

Monyangi was married to the late John Mwenda 16 years ago, but he died before paying dowry for her.

Yesterday, after a lengthy discussion, Mwenda obliged to give his in-laws a token of Sh12,000 before he could be allowed to take the body for burial.

Migosi and his group returned to their home in September village, Kisii District, with an empty coffin, but with "dowry" as Kisii traditions demand.