The High Court in Eldoret was on Thursday told that slain LGBTQ activist Edwin Kiptoo alias Chiloba was in a relationship with the key murder suspect.
During the murder trial of Edwin Chiloba, a witness testified that the deceased was involved in a romantic relationship with the prime suspect, Jackton Odhiambo.
The witness, who sort anonymity, told Magistrate Reuben Nyakundi that Chiloba had confirmed to her that he was in an intimate relationship with Odhiambo.
The witness
The 23-year-old witness informed the court that she was not only a close friend of Chiloba, but also his classmate at the University of Eldoret, where they both pursued fashion and design studies.
“Chiloba and Lizer (the accused) were living together, and the deceased had confirmed to me that they were dating. Chiloba was also a fashion model and the accused was his photographer,” said the prosecution witness.
She further stated that on January 3 while she was at her friend’s house in the same apartments where Chiloba was staying, she saw two people carrying a huge metallic box through the stairs.
“I heard some irritating noises on the staircase and on peeping through the window I saw two people dragging what appeared a heavy box through the stairs. When they got down the stairs, they rested for a while before moving on,” the witness narrated.
Chiloba was a fourth-year student at the University of Eldoret. His body was found stashed in a metal box on the roadside along the Kipkenyo-Kaptinga road within Kapseret sub-County in Uasin Gishu County on January 3.
A post-mortem report by government pathologist Johansen Oduor at the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital revealed that Chiloba died of asphyxiation – lack of oxygen.
More witnesses are expected to testify.
By Wanjiru Mbaru