Police officers said that a motorcycle taxi operator reported that he witnessed the metal box being dumped by a car that had no license plates.
When the police officers opened the box they discovered a decomposing body allegedly dressed in women’s clothes. The body was taken to the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital and it was determined that it was Chiloba. They are now trying to figure out the cause of death. Police spokesperson Resila Onyango stated that there are no motives for the death.
“We don’t know for now why he was killed that way. Experts are handling the matter,” she said.
The Washington Post reported that a suspect has been arrested. The county commissioner, Eddyson Nyale named 24-year-old Jactone Odhiambo as the suspected killer. He had been seen with Chiloba at several locations.
The Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC), which is a nongovernmental organization, stated, “This is a frightening crime but it’s becoming common in Kenya — evidence of a growing epidemic of violence in the country.”
The organization also posted about Chiloba’s death.
“On Tuesday, the body of Edwin Chiloba was found in Kapseret, Uasin Gishu county after he was brutally killed & dumped in the area by unknown assailants.”
On Tuesday, the body of Edwin Chiloba was found in Kapseret, Uasin Gishu county after he was brutally killed & dumped in the area by unknown assailants.
It is truly worrisome that we continue to witness escalation in violence targeting LGBTQ+ Kenyans.#JusticeForEdwinChiloba pic.twitter.com/CZLuD5Khb8
— KHRC (@thekhrc) January 6, 2023
A friend of the dead activist, MaryLize Biubwa, who is also co-founder of Queer Republic, an LGBTQ rights group, said that Chiloba had been attacked twice in the past year, once in July and then again in September.
“He was full of life; it’s so sad to think of his life in this way at the moment, because he was a lifegiver,” Biubwa said.
“His fight is not just for him, it’s for everyone who is queer, who is different, who is criminalized by the society we live in. Chiloba could’ve really been any queer person, and that’s the saddest thing.”