A funeral can be a time for sombre reflection for family and friends but in this era of social media, when the deceased may have shared intimate details about their life to a large following, fans who feel they somehow know them may have different ideas.

In Kenya, a normal burial for a 23-year old orphaned man would probably be attended by those who had been close to him.

But this was not the case for TikToker Brian Chira who died two weeks ago in a road accident, near the capital, Nairobi.

He had amassed a following of more than 400,000 in little over a year. His candid, witty videos, addressing social and relationship issues, delivered straight to camera, amused, and sometimes shocked, many people.

His fans – known as the “Chira Clan” – also wanted to pay tribute after his life was tragically cut short. They helped contribute to a funeral fund, which raised over $60,000 (£48,000) for the burial, leaving the organisers stunned.

But Chira’s family and neighbours are still reeling after thousands of them deluged his burial in a rather sleepy and remote village, Gitei, in central Kenya.

Tuesday’s event was initially planned for 500 people but the number of attendees swelled to more than 5,000.

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