The police in Kenya have announced that one of the suspects in the recent murder of LGBTQ rights activist Edwin Chiloba is his roommate, who is believed to have had a close relationship with the victim.
Chiloba’s body was discovered in a metal box that had been thrown out of a vehicle.
His death has caused outrage within Kenya’s LGBTQ community, where homosexuality is taboo and can be punishable by a prison sentence of up to 14 years (although this law is rarely enforced).
A court affidavit stated that Chiloba is believed to have died in the home he shared with one of the suspects, Jacktone Odhiambo. The affidavit also revealed that Odhiambo and four other suspects admitted to moving, loading, and disposing of Chiloba’s body in the metal box.
The suspects will be held for 21 days while the police continue their investigation. Two of those arrested are minors.
A coalition of rights groups, including Amnesty International Kenya, has praised the police for their swift investigation and called on authorities to conduct thorough investigations into the deaths of other LGBTQ individuals in Kenya, which they claim have often been handled with indifference.
Edwin Chiloba’s roommate suspected in his death, police s“The killing of Edwin Chiloba exposes the rise in Sexual and Gender-Based Violence, and Intimate Partner Violence experienced in Kenya,” the statement said.ay
