Suspects in court over killing of Kenya LGBTQ campaigner
Five suspects appeared in a Kenyan court over the death of a prominent LGBTQ campaigner as police continue to investigate the gruesome killing.
The body of Edwin Kiprotich Kipruto, popularly known as Edwin Chiloba, 25, was found last week stuffed in a metal box on a roadside in western Kenya in a case that has drawn condemnation from rights campaigners at home and abroad.
The five suspects appeared in court in the Rift Valley town of Eldoret but did not enter pleas. Senior principal magistrate Richard Odenyo ordered them to return to court on January 31.
The suspects include freelance photographer Jacktone Odhiambo, who was reportedly a lover of Chiloba and is accused of killing him.
The four others are accused of helping Odhiambo dispose of Chiloba's body which was found 40 kilometres outside Eldoret, police said in court filings.
Police said they had impounded the car believed to have transported the metal trunk the body was found in but it "is yet to be subjected for forensic examination".
They also asked the court for more time to review the CCTV footage of a club where Chiloba -- also a model and fashion designer -- and Odhiambo had been seen partying before the violent killing.
Homosexuality is taboo in Kenya and across much of Africa.
Attempts to overturn British colonial-era laws banning homosexuality in Kenya have proven unsuccessful, and gay sex remains a crime with penalties that include imprisonment of up to 14 years.
