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Prominent Kenyan LGBTQ+ activist Edwin Chiloba was found dead in a gruesome manner on Wednesday, January 4, on a road in Uasin Gishu County, in the west of the country. His body was found stuffed in a metal box. It is reported to have been dumped there by a vehicle with no license plates.
A motorcycle taxi operator reported seeing the box being dumped and informed police officers who were manning a nearby roadblock. The motive for the murder is unknown as of yet, but rights organizations in Kenya, where homosexuality is outlawed, are linking it to his sexuality.
A video of Chiloba partying and enjoying time with his friends on New Year's Eve has surfaced on the internet and gone viral as news of his death spreads. In the video, he is seen wearing the same outfit that he was found dead in. When the police found the body, they described it as a man wearing women's clothes.
Netizens fervently shared this video and images of him wearing iconic outfits to curb the sharing of images of his dead body.
Tributes pour in for Edwin Chiloba, activist and fashionista
Edwin Chiloba is a prominent gay rights activist and fashion designer. He was based in the town of Eldoret, where he ran his fashion business, Chiloba Designs, and fought for the rights of the LGBTQ+ community in his country.
Chiloba, who was in his mid-20s, had moved to Eldoret from the capital, Nairobi, in 2019 to study fashion, as per the BBC.
His body was found stuffed in a metal box and discarded on the side of the road. He was last seen on social media partying on New Year's Eve, wearing the same outfit he was found in.
According to area village elder Barnabas Cheruiyot, a boda boda (motorcycle taxi) rider spotted a numberless vehicle dropping a metal box along the Kipenyo-Kaptinga road. Police who were manning a nearby roadblock were notified of what had happened and rushed to the scene where they found Edwin Chiloba’s body. He was taken to the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital, awaiting a post-mortem.
LGBTQ+ people living in Kenya have often decried discrimination and attacks in a country where relationships between men are illegal. Kenya is largely a conservative society and the president has in the past said that gay rights are a non-issue in the east African country. Homosexuality in Kenya is punishable by 14 years in prison.
According to Chiloba's friend and fellow activist, Denis Nzioka, Edwin Chiloba has previously been subject to attacks and assaults due to his activism. Nzioka is among several others who paid tribute to the fashion icon and activist on social media.
Edwin Chiloba's family has positively identified his body at the Moi Referral Hospital morgue in Eldoret, and his sister confirmed that she was with him during the New Year's celebrations until they said goodbye and parted ways at around 1 am No other information regarding his death was released.
A number of LGBTQ+ rights activists have been murdered in Kenya in the last few years. Sheila Lumumba, a non-binary lesbian, was killed last year, while trans activist Erica Chandra and LGBTQ+ activist Joash Mosoti were killed in 2021.
