The Kenya court has convicted a man for murdering an LGBT activist ‘Edwin Kiprotich Kipruto’ who is popularly known as Edwin Chiloba, two years ago. His dead body was found dumped in a mental box.
Reportedly, the murder sparkled global condemnation, with human rights groups and he stated in his defence that he took such action because of his sexuality. However, the court did not find anything about his motive for the killing.
Kenya is a conservative society and gay sex is illegal there. If found, the individual can be put behind the bars in prison for 14 years. Although, it is not clear at all whether there has been any convictions yet.
Last year, Supreme Court of Kenya affirmed a rule that allows LGBT people the right to associate and register a rights organisation for themselves.
The court, situated in western city of Eldoret ruled the prosecution and proved that Jacktone Odhiambo (the criminal) has killed Chiloba (the victim), whom he was living with. It was later found out that the body of Chiloba was dumped on the roadside in Eldoret, where he studied as a university student.
Considering the raged case, Judge Reuben Nyakundi, examined the evidence which included DNA tests, and found that it was linked to the accused murder. The evidence also indicated that the suspect sexually assaulted Chiloba before killing him.
The judge made his statement over the case and said that the prosecution proved the deliberate intention of the suspect and his deep hatred against the deceased.
Judge Nyakundi added to his statement and said to the suspect, “He was a young man whom you strangled until he lost his life. He was at the peak of his life. You both were close friends and you should have protected his life.”
In addition to the murder case, it was found that last year in January, Chiloba’s body was stuffed with socks into his mouth and a piece of denim from jeans was tied around his face.
Moreover, the post-mortem report indicated that he had died from lack of oxygen which was caused by smothering.
According to the statements made by the Judge Nyakundi, suspected Odhiambo who was believed to be in a relationship with the deceased, was accused of killing activist Chiloba between Dec 31, 2022 and Jan 03, 2023 and denied the charges.
Following the murder case, the prosecution tweeted on his official X handle on Wednesday that it had presented evidence from 23 witnesses. He went to search for details of the events that led to death of Chiloba.
This proved the reasonable doubt that Odhiambo has intentionally caused the unlawful death. He is due to be sentenced on December 16, 2024.
National Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission of Kenya stated that the ‘landmark ruling’ was a significant step towards justice for Edwin and all LGBTQ residents, living in Kenya, continent Africa and beyond.