The brutal murder of activist Edwin Chiloba in Kenya shocks the LGTBI community

Kenyan fashion designer and model Edwin Chiloba poses for a studio portrait in Eldoret, Kenya, on June 6, 2022. LAWRENCE LETEIPA (AFP)

The brutal murder of the young Kenyan fashion designer and model Edwin Chiloba, a prominent activist for the rights of the LGTBI community, has caused an enormous shock in Kenya.

Chiloba's body, who died of suffocation after socks were shoved into his mouth, was found last week inside a metal box that was thrown into a ditch.

Police have so far detained five people, including photographer Jacktone Odhiambo, with whom the victim was allegedly in a relationship and considered the prime suspect, as well as Kenyan bodybuilder Dennis Litali.

Kenya is a country where numerous homophobic attacks take place, but the investigation to clarify the motives for this crime is still open.

Edwin Kiprotich Kiptoo, whose stage name was Edwin Chiloba, was 25 years old and was studying fashion design in the western Kenyan town of Eldoret.

He was known for his fight for the rights of the LGTBI community, as well as for his appearances on social networks wearing women's clothing.

The last time he was seen alive was on January 1 at a New Year's Eve party, after which he returned to his house with several friends.

Kenyan police believe that he was tortured and killed on the spot.

Three days later, a motorist alerted the authorities that several people in a car with hidden license plates had thrown a metal box in the ditch of a road 40 kilometers from Eldoret.

When they opened it, they found the mutilated body of the activist.

That same day, the police arrested Jacktone Odhiambo, a 24-year-old photographer who lived with Chiloba and with whom he had a relationship, according to the investigation.

Four other people were subsequently arrested, including bodybuilder Dennis Litali, who has denied before the judge any relationship with the people investigated, as well as a cousin and a friend of Odhiambo and a taxi driver who allegedly helped move the metal box with the corpse.

Two of them are minors, according to the Reuters agency.

Police reported this week that the five suspects will be detained for at least 21 days while the investigation is carried out.

The car has turned up and is being analyzed to find possible evidence.

The autopsy was made public this Wednesday and revealed that the young fashion designer and model died of suffocation.

"They sealed his nose and mouth with a piece of jeans," said Dr. Johansen Oduor at a press conference at the Moi hospital in Eldoret, "he could not breathe and died shortly after (...) He had socks tucked in in the mouth," he added.

The forensic test also revealed that the body had begun to decompose when it was found and that, despite initial reports in the media, its eyes had not been gouged out.

The reactions of condemnation have been immediate.

Roseline Odede, president of the Kenyan National Human Rights Commission, said in a statement that "it is worrying that those who are perceived to be different continue to be attacked" and recalled the murders of three other gay rights activists in recent years. two years.

Numerous associations and personalities have asked the authorities for a quick investigation to clarify the facts.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, claimed to be "shocked" and recalled the urgent need to "redouble efforts to protect LGTBI activists" around the world.

Amnesty International of Kenya has recalled that “no human life is worth less than another.

Every person has the right to dignity,

Edwin Chiloba himself suffered a serious assault last July, when unidentified assailants beat him on the street.

Despite everything, in one of his last comments on Instagram on December 16, Chiloba made clear his intention to continue fighting "for all those discriminated against."

Similarly, in an interview last year with Bold Network Africa, an organization that promotes the African

population , the young fashion designer assured: "Coming from a community where being

It's a taboo. It blocks a lot of my ambition out of fear of being exposed.

This can be challenging, but every challenge can be overcome.

I firmly believe that with the right expression through my art, I can change the way people think and see me beyond my sexuality."

Edwin Chiloba's family has thanked the Government for its quick reaction and has been convinced that there will be justice, but has claimed to ignore the LGTBI activism of the young designer.

“As a family, we know that our son went to college, he was in his fourth year.

These other things that we are seeing on social networks we do not know.

He was raised as a Christian.

In San Francis Kimuron he was called a pastor and he was a student leader of the Young Christian Students association, so these other things that we are hearing we do not know, we are only seeing them online," said Caudentia Tanui, a spokesperson for the family. .

Homosexual relations are a crime in Kenya and are punishable by up to 14 years in prison, a situation that is not very different from that of some thirty African countries.

In Somalia, Mauritania or Nigeria the sentences can be up to death.

At the other extreme, South Africa is the only African country where gay marriages are authorized.

Homophobia is widespread, even in those countries where it is not legally considered a crime, which generates great social impunity for those who attack homosexuals.

On April 17, 2022, the lifeless body of Kenyan activist Sheila Lumumba was found in her home.

Police reports revealed that the 25-year-old, who defined herself as a non-binary lesbian, was brutally raped and murdered by multiple men.

The previous year, transgender activist Erica Chandra and gay rights advocate Joash Mosoti were also killed.

"Edwin's death reminds us that gay bodies continue to be attacked across the country," the Kenyan National Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission said on its Instagram account a few days ago.

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