Status: 06.01.2023 8:47 p.m
Kenyan police have arrested a suspect following the violent death of a prominent Kenyan fashion designer and LGBTQ activist. Traces also pointed to even more participants.
Police in Kenya have arrested a suspect following the death of LGBTQ activist Edwin Chiloba. According to initial investigations, it was a long-time friend of the dead man, said chief investigator Peter Kimulwo. Traces also indicated that there were more involved.
The body of Kenyan fashion designer and gay rights activist Chiloba was found in a metal box on a road in western Uasin Gishu district of the country. The driver of a motorcycle taxi, according to investigators, had seen the box being unloaded from a vehicle without number plates and reported his observation to the police. An autopsy should clarify the cause of death.
“The killing was horrific in itself, but the horrific way in which his body was dumped makes the situation even more humiliating,” said the Kenyan Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (NGLHRC).
Image: via REUTERS
Not the first attack
After Chiloba’s body was found, the Kenya Human Rights Commission said he was the victim of another heinous act of homophobic violence. Chiloba was a well-known LGBTQ activist and fashion designer and had been physically attacked for his involvement in the past, his friend Denis Nzioka tweeted. Local activist Njeri Migwi tweeted that he embodied fashion. Amnesty International Secretary-General Agnès Callamard called for a full and independent investigation into Chiloba’s death.
Homosexuality is a criminal offense in Kenya
LGBTQ people in Kenya complain of discrimination and attacks. Homosexuality is punishable in Kenya: same-sex sex can sometimes even be punished with imprisonment of up to 14 years. Demands for justice were also raised outside the country: the Ghanaian human rights organization Rightify called on Kenyan President William Ruto to ensure the protection and promotion of the human rights of sexual and gender minorities.