NAIROBI, KENYA — Kenyan police are investigating the apparent killing of a gay model and activist. LGBTQ rights groups allege he was the victim of a hate crime.
The body of Edwin Chiloba, an LGBTQ activist, was found Wednesday in the western Kenyan town of Kapsaret. Police say the body, which had multiple stab wounds, had been stuffed into a metal box that was left along the side of a road.
Now, rights campaigners are raising concerns about the safety of the LGBTQ community in Kenya.
“Just knowing one person is from a party and the next thing they are dead is really scary,” said Fahe Kerubo, an LGBTQ campaigner at the Reproductive Health Network in Kenya. “People are not leaving their houses currently. They are calling around to know what is the status of the country and if they are safe, or something like that.”
Police told VOA they have arrested a suspect in connection to Chiloba’s killing but the motive is yet to be established.
“Apparently, it’s just a murder incident but the investigation is going on, said Resila Onyango, a Kenyan police spokesperson. “The Directorate of Criminal Investigation team are investigating on the ground. So far, we have arrested one person who is an adult and who was last seen with the deceased. It is believed they were friends. We are currently pursuing the motor vehicle suspected to have been used in disposing off the body.”
Kenya is largely a conservative society. Sex between men is illegal in the country and LGBT people have often been the target of discrimination and attacks.
“We’ve tried to make advances towards ensuring that human rights are upheld, interns of the LGBTQ community,” Kerubo said. “Yes, we’ve made strides but we’ve seen there’ve been a couple of deaths happening to queer people, trans people. There is a lot of homophobia, a lot of transphobia happening in the country.”
Source: Voice of America