Witnesses say slain activist, key suspect had a relationship

The late Edwin Kiptoo's (Chiloba) murder suspect Jacktone Odhiambo at the Eldoret High Court on August 2, 2023. [Peter Ochieng, Standard]

The High Court in Eldoret has been told that slain LGBTQ activist Edwin Kiptoo alias Chiloba was in a relationship with the key murder suspect.

Witnesses, claiming to be friends of the late Chiloba, said he was cohabiting with the accused Jackton Odhiambo alias Lizer at an apartment in Chebisaas in the outskirts of Eldoret town.

Testifying before Justice Reuben Nyakundi, a classmate studying with Chiloba at the University of Eldoret and who sought anonymity, told the court that the deceased had confided in her about his relationship with his alleged killer.

"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.

The witness broke down while giving her testimony and said she later received screenshots from Facebook of a body being retrieved from a metallic box.

"I recognised his clothes, one was his favourite jacket. I could not talk to anyone. I kept calling Chiloba's number for a while, but his number was off. He was dead," the witness stated.

Another witness, Patricia Nyambura, 26, also a classmate of the deceased, said on the night of December 31, the last night Chiloba was seen alive, she had found Chiloba and Odhiambo at a popular club.

She said she was with her boyfriend Denis Ochieng' and their other friend, Fidel Adede.

"We were seated at a spot just next to where Chiloba and the accused were. We were exchanging drinks and at some point, at around 3:30am we joined their table and later decided to go home together since we were neighbours," said Nyambura.

She said Odhiambo hailed a taxi, which they boarded and headed to their various homes.

Ochieng, a photographer, who also testified, said at around 10am, the accused had come to the house he was staying with Nyambura asking to charge Chiloba's iPhone. The phone was produced in court as an exhibit.

"We asked where Chiloba was, and he told us he was asleep. Odhiambo was also bleeding on his hands and claimed he had been injured," the photographer said.

They said they later learned of Chiloba's murder through a friend who called them and shared the circulating images showing Chiloba's body in a metallic box.

"In the images, Chiloba was still dressed in the same clothes he had on New Year's Eve. He had a Nigerian hat, a lace top, red pants and boots," the court heard.

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.