Five People Held By Police In Connection With The Murder Of Activist Edwin Chiloba

Five suspects in the killing and disposal of the body of LGBTQ activist Edwin Kiptoo Chiloba will be held in police custody for another 21 days while investigations are completed.

The court in Eldoret ordered that the five suspects, led by prime suspect Jackton Odhiambo, remain behind bars to allow police to conduct additional investigations and arrest additional suspects linked to the murder.

Dennis Litali, three young people, and Odhiambo all made an appearance.

Chief Inspector Stephen Mumba, the case’s main investigator, appeared before Senior Principal Magistrate Richard Odenyo and informed the court that a postmortem to ascertain the cause of Chiloba’s death had not yet been performed.

He noted that a forensic investigation has not yet been conducted at the deceased’s home, which is thought to be the murder site, as well as the vehicle used to transport his body.

“It is believed that the victim was slain at his home in the Moiben Sub-County settlement of Chebisas. The Respondents in this case claimed to have helped move the deceased’s body from his house to a Toyota Fielder KCL 299L, which was found and is currently being held at the Langas Police station, in a steel box.

According to testimony given in court, Odhiambo claimed to have spent time with Chiloba before his death in a number of clubs in Uasin Gishu County. According to him, the DCI has not yet visited the clubs to collect CCTV video. He continued by saying that the deceased’s cell phone has also yet to be located.

“For the respondents’ own protection, it is imperative that they remain in custody based on the issues highlighted. We worry that releasing the responders could put them at risk of harm or flight because other suspects have not yet been apprehended, according to Mumba.

Odenyo gave the order for the case to be brought up on January 31.