Kenya: LGBTIQ+ Fashion Designer Edwin Chiloba’s Killer Sentenced to 50 Years

Jacktone Odhiambo, convicted of murdering his housemate and LGBTIQ+ activist Edwin Chiloba in Kenya, has been sentenced to 50 years in prison.

The 25-year-old Chiloba’s mutilated body was found stuffed inside a metal box by the roadside near Eldoret, Uasin Gishu County, on 3 January 2023.

The brutal killing sparked global outrage and shook Kenya’s LGBTIQ+ community, with many speculating that it was a hate crime.

Chiloba, a prominent activist, model, influencer and fashion designer, died from asphyxiation. An autopsy revealed that socks had been forced into his mouth, and a strip of denim was tied around his mouth and nose.

Odhiambo, a freelance photographer who’s been described as Chiloba’s friend, housemate, and former romantic partner, was arrested shortly after the discovery of the body.

“My movement is for everyone. It’s about inclusion. And if I am going to fight what I have been marginalized for, I am going to fight for all marginalized people,” Chiloba wrote in a 2022 Instagram post.

Evidence presented in court revealed that Odhiambo not only murdered Chiloba but also sexually assaulted him before his death. The two were last seen together at a nightclub three days before the body was discovered.

While the motive for the attack remains unclear, High Court Justice Reuben Nyakundi called the murder “premeditated, malicious, and aggravated.” He noted that Odhiambo had shown no remorse.

“The accused deserves the death penalty, which is not implemented in Kenya. As such, this court has sentenced him to serve 50 years in jail,” ruled Justice Nyakundi on Monday.

Odhiambo denied committing the crime, but DNA, other physical evidence and testimony from over 20 witnesses tied him to the murder.

Kenya’s National Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission described the sentence as “a sombre reminder of the devastating loss to Chiloba’s family and the wider community.”

The organisation stated: “After a lengthy legal battle, the decision brings some measure of justice, though the pain of the loss remains profound.”

Same-sex intimacy is illegal in Kenya under colonial-era laws. Acts described as “carnal knowledge against the order of nature” and “gross indecency” are punishable by up to 14 years in prison.