Police in Kenya have opened an investigation into the murder of an LGBTQ rights activist, whose body was discovered in a trunk, sparking a national outcry.
The body of Edwin Chiloba, a 25-year-old designer and model, was found on the side of the road some 40km from the Rift Valley town of Eldoret on Wednesday, local media reported.
A police spokesman, Resila Onyango, told The Star daily that the motive for the murder was currently unknown. “Experts are investigating the matter,” he said.
LGBTQ rights activists have called for the investigation to move forward quickly. In Kenya, LGBTQ people face precariousness and discrimination in a predominantly Christian and conservative society where homosexuality is taboo, as in many African countries.
Prison sentence
Sexual relations between people of the same sex are punishable by law, with penalties of up to 14 years in prison.
“Continuing to see an escalation in violence targeting LGBTQ+ Kenyans” is concerning,” the Kenyan Human Rights Commission said in a statement Friday.
“Every day, the rights of LGBTQ+ people are violated with no real consequences for the perpetrators,” he denounced, urging the police “to carry out rapid investigations and ensure that the killers are apprehended and prosecuted”.
A suspect was arrested in connection with the death of prominent Kenyan LGBTQ rights campaigner Edwin Chiloba, police said. His body was found stuffed inside a metal box near the town of Eldoret in the west of the country https://t.co/4gSyYaUgDE pic.twitter.com/to6Zt0b3U8
— Reuters (@Reuters) January 7, 2023
Rest in peace Edwin Chiloba😭🕊 pic.twitter.com/VmhOURPbNY
— Grace Amondi (@graceamondi7) January 5, 2023
The LGBTQ Feminist Forum in western Kenya, where Edwin Chiloba lived, pointed out that the designer had used “fashion to deconstruct gender and promote the rights of the marginalized community”.
“We want to know, as a community, what happened to Edwin, why he was murdered and who deposited his body at the scene,” said the group’s director of programs, Becky Mududa.
In April last year, another LGBTQ activist was found murdered in Kenya.
Words cannot even explain how we as a community are feeling right now.
Edwin Chiloba was a fighter, fighting relentlessly to change the hearts and minds of society when it came to lgbtq+ lives.
Another soul lost due to hate. You will be missed. RIP🕊️#justiceforedwinchiloba pic.twitter.com/eAwN5Jflns
— #HereForAll (@Galck_ke) January 6, 2023
Amelia Warner
Amelia Warner writes all the Latest Articles. She mostly covers Entertainment topics, but at times loves to write about movie reviews as well.