Kenya: Police find body of LGBTQ activist in metal box

Kenyan police on Friday said they were investigating the death of LGBTQ activist Edwin Chiloba, whose body was found left inside a metal box. They later announced one arrest in the case.

The 25-year-old, who was also a fashion designer, was well known for promoting the rights of LGBTQ Kenyans in a country where attacks and discrimination are common.

What do we know so far?

Police said they investigated after a taxi driver reported seeing the crate being dumped by a vehicle that had no license plates near the town of Eldoret.

They found the decomposing body of a man inside the container. The body was taken to the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital, where it was identified as being that of Chiloba.

The hospital said examiners were working to examine the causes of the activist's death.

Chiloba's friend Denis Nzioka said the campaigner had previously been attacked and assaulted because of his work.

"You represented and lived life well, Edwin Chiloba," Nzioka tweeted.

Police spokesperson Resila Onyango said the motive had yet to be established.

"We don't know for now why he was killed that way. Experts are handling the matter," she said.

What do we know about the arrested suspect?

Later on Friday, Kenyan police announced they had arrested a suspect in the case.

"We have a suspect in custody and we are investigating his role in this murder," said Peter Kimulwo, head of investigations at the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) office in the town of Eldoret.

The male suspect is believed to have been a longtime friend of Chiloba's.

Authorities said they are also looking for at least two people who were seen loading a metal container into a vehicle at Chiloba's home.

Rights groups decry killing

Rights campaigners called on Kenyan authorities to quickly determine who was behind Chiloba's killing. Brian Weke, a lawyer and human rights activist in Kenya told DW that "everyone's human rights must be respected" in the country.

"No one has a license to kill anybody in our country," he told DW. "Members of the LGBTQ [community] are human beings, sons, daughters, relatives and parents.  We therefore urge the Kenyan police to speed up their work and ensure those who killed Edwin are held to account."

The Kenya Human Rights Commission said it is "truly worrisome that we continue to witness escalation in violence targeting LGBTQ+ Kenyans."

"Everyday, the human rights of LGBTQ+ persons are being violated with little consequence for perpetrators," the commission said in a statement.

LGBTQ people living in Kenya, where sex between men is illegal, have often complained of discrimination and violence against them.

Sex between two men can result in a prison sentence of up to 14 years.

Kenya is largely a conservative society, with recently-elected President William Ruto in 2015 — when he was deputy president — warning individuals pushing for gay rights that they did not have a place in the country's society.

DW's John Juma contributed reporting to this article.

rs, rc/wmr (AP, LUSA, AFP)