A prominent LGBTQ rights activist was discovered dead in a metal box in western Kenya, local news outlets reported Friday.
Edwin Chiloba, 25, was reportedly found on the side of a road 25 miles outside of Eldoret, Kenya, according to The Guardian. Police authorities reportedly stated that motorbike taxi riders saw an unmarked vehicle drop the box on the roadside Wednesday, CNN noted.
The police opened the box and saw Chiloba’s decomposing remains dressed in female clothing, CBS reported.
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
Chiloba, a model and fashion designer, was running a fashion business near Eldoret, where his body was found, according to CNN.
“He was brutally killed & dumped in the area by unknown assailants,” the Kenyan Human Rights Commission (KHRC) commented on Twitter. “It is truly worrisome that we continue to witness escalation in violence targeting LGBTQ+ Kenyans.”
Police continue to investigate the motive behind Chiloba’s death. “We don’t know for now why he was killed that way. Experts are handling the matter,” Resila Onyango, a police spokesperson, told CBS News.
Gay sex is punishable by up to 14 years in prison, CNN reported. The law, stemming from British colonial times, is not typically enforced, however, a stigma against homosexuals remains prominent within the country.
In September 2022, the Kenya Film Classification Board (KFCB) reaffirmed that any movie containing LGBTQ content is illegal across the country, due to the Kenyan Constitution. (RELATED: REPORT: Gay Rights Activist Fred Sargeant Assaulted At Vermont Pride Parade For Holding Sign Critical Of Trans Agenda)
“If there is any content that normalises or glorifies same-sex relationships, our position in Kenya has always been that kind of content is restricted and should not be broadcasted, exhibited or distributed within the borders of the country,” KFCB Acting CEO Christopher Wambua said of the country’s laws.