Police in Kenya is investigating the death of young fashion designer and LGBTQ activist Edwin Chiloba after his body was found dumped in a metal box by the roadside near the town of Eldoret.
A suspect believed to be a friend of the victim has been arrested but police have not spoken about a motive.
Rights organizations in Kenya, where gay sex is outlawed, have linked the killing to his sexuality.
“Edwin’s death reminds us that queer bodies continue to be under attack all over the country,” the National Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission wrote on Instagram.
Tributes on social media describe Chiloba, who was in his mid-20s, as “an amazing human” and an “iconic fashion designer”.
last month Chiloba wrote on Instagram that he was “going to fight for all marginalised people”, saying that he himself had been marginalised.
He had moved to Eldoret from the capital, Nairobi, in 2019 to study fashion and was beginning to make a name for himself in design, another friend said.
His body was discovered on Wednesday.
A witness is quoted as saying that someone in a vehicle without a number plate was seen leaving a metal box at the side of the road.
It was reported to the police, who went to open the box to find the corpse.
“We don’t know for now why he was killed that way. Experts are handling the matter,” police spokesperson Resila Onyango was earlier quoted by the star newspaper.
A suspect believed to be a friend of the victim has been arrested but police have not spoken about a motive.
