UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said on Saturday ” shaken by the murder of Edwin Chiloba, a defender of the rights of LGBT+ people in Kenya. On Friday, police said they arrested a suspect.
With our correspondent in Nairobi, Florence Morice
He was 25 years old, and was one of the figures of the fight for LGBT+ rights in Kenya. The body of Edwin Chilobat was found on Wednesday January 4, in a trunk left on the side of a road, about 40 km from Eldoret, in the rift valley. According to an anonymous police source quoted by AFP, the young man, model and fashion designer is said to have died. strangled ” after having been ” torture “. The discovery sparked an outcry in Kenya.
An investigation is underway. On Friday, the police announced that they were holding a suspect. The arrested man is said to be a longtime friend of the victim. But other people are wanted. They were reportedly seen loading a metal trunk into a car not far from the victim’s home. Still according to the police, it was a motorcycle taxi driver who gave the alert, after seeing a vehicle get rid of the trunk, thus allowing the macabre discovery.
The Kenyan Human Rights Commission denounces another disgusting act of homophobic violence “. According to his relatives, the victim had already been threatened for his positions in favor of LGBT +. Condemnations and calls for justice are pouring in from all sides, including from abroad. On Friday evening, Ned Price, the spokesman for American diplomacy, called for ” all responsibilities are established ” in this file.
In April, another LGBT+ activist had already been found murdered in Kenya. Same-sex sexual relations are punishable under Kenyan law, with prison sentences of up to 14 years.