Kenyan police have arrested more suspects in the murder of LGBTQ activist Edwin Chiloba, whose mutilated body was found on the side of the road stuffed with metal rods, media reports said on Sunday.
Rights campaigners have issued a call for greater efforts to protect members of the LGBTQ community following the brutal death of Chiloba in western Kenya’s Rift Valley.
Police on Friday said they had arrested a freelance photographer who they said was a longtime friend of the 25-year-old victim, a leading activist in Kenya’s LGBTQ community as well as a model and fashion designer.
On Saturday, three more suspects were arrested for allegedly playing a role in disposing of the body, media reports said, citing police officials.
Chiloba’s body was found about 40 kilometers (25 miles) outside the Rift Valley town of Eldoret after he was reportedly thrown from a moving car.
The Star newspaper reported that a post-mortem will be carried out on Monday, while the family prepares for the funeral on Saturday.
“He died of pain,” an unidentified police official in Eldoret told the media last week. “They must have tortured him and then cut out his eyes. It turned out that he was strangled.”
Members of Kenya’s LGBTQ community often face harassment and physical attacks in the predominantly conservative Christian country.
Homosexuality is taboo in Kenya and in much of Africa, and gay people often face discrimination or persecution.
Efforts to overturn British colonial-era laws banning homosexuality in Kenya have proven unsuccessful, and gay sex remains a crime punishable by up to 14 years in prison.
‘Double protection effort’
UN human rights chief Volker Turk said on Saturday he was “shocked” by Chiloba’s death.
“Standing in solidarity with LGBTQI + activists around the world. We urgently need to redouble our efforts to protect them,” he said on Twitter.
The call was made by the African Union’s human rights commissioner, Solomon Ayele Dersso, who issued a statement on Saturday condemning Chiloba’s killing and saying it appeared to be “the result of hate”.
Dersso urged Kenya to initiate a “transparent, thorough and swift investigation” into the murder and bring those responsible to justice.
He also called on Kenya and other AU members to take steps to ensure that “all vulnerable members of society, including those who are or are considered different from mainstream members of society including because of their sexual or gender identity, are guaranteed to live free from the threat of violent attacks”.
Kenya’s National Human Rights Commission said Chiloba’s death followed the killing of several other defenders of rights for sexual minorities, Sheila Lumumba, Erica Chandra and Joash Mosoti.
“Continued targeting of people who are perceived as different is worrying,” said the independent but state rights watchdog.
“The National Police Service must strive to ensure that Kenyans feel safe, and not be arbitrarily attacked or targeted because of their beliefs or perceived associations,” he added.
Amnesty International called for “an immediate investigation into (Chiloba’s) brutal murder,” saying “no human life is worth more than the life of another.”