The High Court in Eldoret has found freelance photographer Jacktone Odhiambo, alias Lizer, guilty of murdering LGBTQ activist Edwin Kiptoo Chiloba in Eldoret.
Justice Reuben Nyakundi said the prosecution proved its case against the suspect, who will now be sentenced on December 16.
Nyakundi ruled that both scientific, direct, and witness evidence linked the accused to the murder.
The judge said forensic and DNA tests also showed that the two had an intimate relationship and were dear friends.
Odhiambo had denied killing Chiloba between December 31, 2022, and January 3, 2023, at Noble Breeze Apartment in the Chebisaas area of Uasin Gishu County.
Chiloba's decomposing body was discovered dumped in a metallic box on January 3, 2023, along the busy Kipkenyo-Kaptinga road in Kapseret Sub County, 10 kilometres away from Eldoret town.
Nyakundi noted that all important links connect the accused to the commission of the offense, and the judge noted that the actions of the accused were planned, calculated, and with malice aforethought.
Nyakundi said the prosecution had establishes beyond reasonable doubt that the accused was the last person seen with the deceased.
The judge went through a cronology of events during which the two were seen together at Tamasha Club from December 31st, 2022, to January 3, 2023 when Chiloba’s body was found stashed in a large metal box and dumped along a road in the town. Nyakundi said in his defense Odhiambo did not contrradict prosecution evidence or prove how else the deceased lost his life.
“I have looked at all evidence, including the last seen theory, forensic and DNA evidence, along with swabs taken and concluded that you were directly placed at the scene of crime," said Nyakundi.
Nyakundi noted that there was enough evidence on how Odhiambo bought the metal box in which Chiloba”s body was found dumped.
The judge also cited expert evidence that proved that Odhiambo took Chiloba’s mobile phone and used the Chiloba's M-Pesa account for several transactions, including paying for the metalic box.
Witnesses also saw the two heading to an apartment, where they lived in the same room as intimate partners.
“Witnesses also heard cries from the deceased at around 3am on the fateful night, and perhaps those were the last cries as he fought to save himself from your unlawful act," said Nyakundi.
Nyakundi said the scientific evidence had also proved that Odhiambo committed an unlawful sexual act on the deceased before the killing.
"Jacktone, when you leave this court, I want you to reflect back on how you committed the offense and all that you did to terminate the life of your dear friend," said Nyakundi.
He said the accused stashes pairs of socks in the mouth of the deceased to deny him oxygen and strangle him to death. The judge noted that witnesses who helped Odhiambo carry and dump Chiloba’s body testified in court.
The court noted that the deceased had defence injuries, meaning he tried to fight for life but the accused did not let him live
“He was a young man whom you stangled until he lost his life at the peak of his life. You were close friends, and you should have protected his life," said the judge.
The court did not find the motive of killing, but the judge said the manner of the killing proved that Odhiambo had aforethought malice and had deep hatred against the deceased.
The prosecution, which was led by state counsel Mark Mugun, had presented 22 witnesses against Odhiambo, after which Justice Reuben Nyakundi put the suspect on his defense, saying he had a case to answer in connection with the murder.
Odhiambo, aged 25 had during his defense used more than eight ours to defend himself, during which he denied being involved in the murder of Chiloba.
Chiloba was then a final year student who was pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in Apparel Fashion and Design at the University of Eldoret.
Odhiambo denied killing Chiloba between December 31, 2022, and January 3, 2023, at an apartment in the Chebisaas area of Uasin Gishu County.
The 26-year-old deceased’s decomposing body was discovered dumped in a metallic box on January 3, 2023, along the busy Kipkenyo-Kaptinga road in Kapseret Sub County, 10 kilometres away from Eldoret town
“Edwin was my mutual friend and I was not in any way involved in his murder. In fact, I fainted for over two hours when I learnt of his death through social media," argued Odhiambo during his defense.
An autopsy report conducted at Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital morgue revealed that the deceased died as a result of asphyxia.
Chief Government pathologist Dr Johansen Oduor said that a post-mortem conducted on the deceased showed that he was suffocated to death after his mouth and nose were stuffed with pieces of clothing from jeans and socks.
Swabs taken from the suspect and the body of the deceased revealed matching samples indicating they had a sexual relationship, but Odhiambo told the court that there was no way he would have anal sex with a fellow man. However, he also explained how Chiloba was annoyed whenever he saw him talking to women as they were partying on the night the murder occurred.
Odhiambo told the court how the deceased branded him a womanizer after he spotted him interacting with some ladies in one of the nightclubs where they had gone partying.
He had told the judge that he used to share the room with the late Chiloba when he was a student at the University of Eldoret, adding that the deceased was always angry with him whenever he saw him interacting with women and girls.
“Chiloba used to accuse me over my obsession with young girls every time we came from nightclubs. He was short-tempered and furious, leading to a vicious argument in our apartment room,” said Odhiambo.
A friend and classmate of the slain University of Eldoret student, in her testimony, told the court that Odhiambo and the deceased were lovers and that it was not a secret.
“Chiloba and Jacktone Odhiambo were in a romantic relationship, and it was in the public domain. They were together at all social events. You could not separate them,” she said.
Odhiambo’s young brother and cousin, who testified before the judge, narrated how they helped him load the metallic box bearing Chiloba’s decomposed body in a car en route to Kipkenyo, where it was dumped on the roadside.
The court heard that after dumping the body of Chiloba on a roadside, Odhiambo used Chiloba’s M-Pesa account to pay several bills, including buying the box in which the body was dumped.
Polycarp Kweyu, principal chemist from the Government Chemist in Kisumu, revealed in his testimony that the male DNA profile generated from the bed cover matched seminal fluids that were extracted from Odhiambo.
The court was packed with relatives of both sides, and some of Chiloba”s relatives wept openly as the judgement was delivered.
