Kenyan Court Convicts Jacktone Odhiambo of LGBTQ Activist Edwin Chiloba's Murder

The court ruled that Odhiambo suffocated Chiloba and disposed of his body in a metal box, but no motive for the killing was established.

Edwin Chiloba, a prominent LGBTQ activist and fashion student, was killed in early 2023, with his body found in a metal box on a roadside in Eldoret, Kenya.
Jacktone Odhiambo, Chiloba's housemate and alleged intimate partner, was found guilty of murder after DNA evidence and witness testimony linked him to the crime.
The court determined that Odhiambo suffocated Chiloba, with post-mortem results showing smothering as the cause of death, but did not establish a motive.
The case gained international attention, highlighting the challenges faced by LGBTQ individuals in Kenya, where same-sex relationships are criminalized, though police ruled out hate crime as a motive.
Odhiambo is scheduled to be sentenced on December 16, following a trial that included testimony from 23 witnesses and was described as a landmark ruling by LGBTQ rights groups.