Kenyan officials shocked local villagers and horrified a mourning family when they dug up the corpse of a dead colleague to retrieve the service uniform he was buried in.

Martin Alukoye, 31, drowned on 9 August after suffering from an epileptic seizure and falling into a river. He was buried on two days later in his green County Youth Service uniform.

On Monday, ghoulish officials turned up to the grave site and demanded they dig Alukoye up so they could take back the military outift.

Despite pleas from the family to stop, the men insisted and Alukoye's body was exhumed from its grave.

Once they pulled the body from the ground, they stripped the corpse naked in full view of his family.

Martin Alukoye, 31, had his local military uniform prized from his dead body by county officials just days after his burial. Above is the uniform the men retrieved in full view of his mourning family

Locals gather near to the burial site of Martin Alukoye who was buried on 11 August in Kakamega, Kenya. Council officials dug up his body so they could get the clothes he was buried in

Alukoye's wife Jacqueline said the official's actions had worsened the misery of her mourning

His wife, Jacqueline, told BBC Swahili that the official's actions 'piled on the misery I am going through.'

'I would like to request them to leave me in peace,' she added.

The deceased man's uncle and village elder, Francis Mutamba, said that county officials 'went against the laws of the land and the laws of our forefathers.'

Francis Mutamba, the man's uncle and a village elder, said that the county officials had gone against the 'laws of the land and the laws of our forefathers' by digging up Alukoye

He added that officials had been present during the burial and had not advised them to keep his uniform out of the coffin.

Mutamba said that the town elders would have to 'consult widely on the next course of action,' though Alukoye's body was again returned to the ground on Monday evening.

Rituals were also performed to cleanse the family.