Kenyan police said a suspect was arrested in connection with the death of a prominent LGBTQ rights campaigner whose body was found stuffed into a metal box near the town of Eldoret in the west of the country https://t.co/4gSyYaUgDE pic.twitter.com/Le42BFOnAE
— Reuters (@Reuters) January 6, 2023
The death drew condemnation from several human rights groups, including the International Commission of Jurists Kenya section, which called for the speedy investigation and apprehension of those behind his killing.
“Chiloba’s death is a tragedy and an affront to human dignity and violation of the right to life #JusticeForChiloba,” it said on Twitter.
Resila Onyango, Kenya National Police Service’s spokesperson, said officers had arrested one person in connection with Chiloba’s death.
“Police arrested one male suspect in Eldoret on Friday. He is the main suspect but the matter is still under investigation,” she said in a text message to Reuters.
“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,” GALCK, a Kenyan gay rights group, said on Twitter.
Under British colonial-era law, gay sex in Kenya is punishable by 14 years in prison. It is rarely enforced but discrimination is common.