Emotions Run High as LGBTQ Activist Edwin Chiloba is Laid To Rest
LGBTQ Activist Edwin Chiloba was today 17 th Jan 2023, buried at the family home in Sergoit Village of
Elgeyo Marakwet County
The grisly death of Edwin Kiprotich Kipruto, popularly known as Edwin Chiloba, has drawn
condemnation and calls for justice from friends and rights groups in Kenya and abroad.
Hundreds of people gathered at his parents’ home in Sergoit to pay their last respect in a service
that was full of emotions
Family and friends wept as they paid homage to the 25-year-old model and fashion designer, who
has been targeted by online abuse since his death.
Joel Onteri, who attended high school with Chiloba, appealed for the vilification of his former
classmate to end.
‘Despite all that is being said, Chiloba has a family and those close to him. If we continue mocking
him on social media, the family is being stigmatised,’ Onteri said.
‘Let’s leave judgement to God,’ he added
Others made similar calls on Twitter, where his name was the top trending topic in Kenya.
‘Today, a peaceful person is buried. Rest in Power Edwin Chiloba. Salute your courage to
authentically live your life,’ Irungu Houghton, the executive director of Amnesty International’s
Kenya branch, said on Twitter.
‘May your love for life inspire all who now know you. Deepest condolences again to family, friends +
the LGBTIQ+ community,’ he said.
Last week, the chief government pathologist Johansen Oduor said Chiloba had been smothered to
death.
He said after a post-mortem that a piece of denim had been tied around Chiloba’s mouth and nose
and that socks had also been stuffed in his mouth.
Chiloba’s body was discovered about 40 kilometres (25 miles) outside the Rift Valley town of Eldoret
after it was reportedly dumped by a car.
The killing was initially suspected to have been a hate crime, as members of Kenya’s LGBTQ
community have faced harassment and physical attacks in the predominantly conservative Christian
nation.
https://youtu.be/O-TNwiJBJ14
Freelance photographer Jacktone Odhiambo, who was reportedly a lover of Chiloba, is the prime
suspect in his death and is in police custody alongside other four suspects.
A court in Eldoret has allowed police to detain the five until January 31 as they pursue their
investigations into the killing.
Rights campaigners have condemned Chiloba’s violent death and called for heightened efforts to
protect members of the LGBTQ community.
Homosexuality is taboo in Kenya and across much of Africa.
Despite attempts to overturn British colonial-era laws banning homosexuality in Kenya, gay sex
remains a crime with penalties including prison terms of up to 14 years.
According to the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights, Chiloba’s death came after the
unsolved murders of several other right advocates for sexual minorities.
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