Edwin Kiprotich Kiptoo was known to family and friends as Chiloba (Picture: Reuters)

A gay man who vowed to ‘fight for all marginalised people’ has been found dead in a metal box in Uasin Gishu County, Kenya.

Edwin Kiprotich Kiptoo, 25, was found dead by the side of a road on Wednesday 25 miles outside the Rift Valley town of Eldoret.

The body of Kiptoo, known to many by his nickname Chiloba, was found stashed inside a large metal box, The Star, a Kenyan newspaper, reported.

Police say witnesses saw a numberless vehicle drop the metal box.

A motive for the killing remains unknown, police added, but LGBTQ+ activists know why: his sexuality.

In Kenya, a British colonial-era law outlaws gay sex. Threats of 14-year prison sentences, discrimination and violence against LGBTQ+ people are common.

Galck+, an LGBTQ+ advocacy group, estimates that more than half of LGBTQ+ Kenyans have been assaulted.

Edwin Chiloba’s death has come to capture the plight of LGBTQ+ Kenyans, activists say (Picture: Reuters)

Chiloba’s body has since been moved to the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital for post-mortem examinations.

The model, who moved to Eldoret from Nairobi in 2019 to study fashion, was described by his family and fellow activists as a spirited and upbeat person.

‘My movement is for everyone,’ Chiloba wrote on Instagram last month. ‘It’s about inclusion.

‘And if I am going to fight what I have been marginalized for, I am going to fight for all marginalized people.’

Chiloba’s family said they last saw him over New Year’s Eve, with video footage on social media showing him singing while out with friends.

His sister, Melvin, told The Star: ‘At about 1am after the new year fireworks, I met him and he bid me farewell saying he would miss me.’

Chiloba dreamt of becoming a major fashion designer (Picture: Reuters)

‘I did not sense any problem and little did I know that it would be the last time I was seeing my brother.’

Chiloba’s death touched off an outpouring of grief and anger in Kenya and beyond, with human rights groups paying tribute.

Amnesty Kenya tweeted today: ‘No human life is worth less than another.

‘Everyone has a right to dignity, respect and protection under Article 26 of the Constitution. We demand speedy investigations into the brutal murder of Edwin Chiloba.’

Galck+ said: ‘Words cannot even explain how we as a community are feeling right now. Another soul lost due to hate. You will be missed.’

The Kenya Human Rights Commission said in a statement: ‘It is truly worrisome that we continue to witness escalation in violence targeting LGBTQ+ Kenyans.’

‘Every day, the human rights of LGBTQ+ persons are being violated with little consequence for perpetrators,’ it added, calling the police ‘to conduct swift investigations and ensure the killers are apprehended and prosecuted’.

Around a quarter of queer Kenyans have been assaulted, according to activist estimates (Picture: Reuters)

Rightify Ghana, a human rights monitoring group, told Metro.co.uk: ‘The world mourns with you and celebrates the extraordinary life of this remarkable person who devoted his life to fashion, activism and humanitarian work.’

Kenya, after years of campaigning from LGBTQ+ activists, inched closer to ripping laws that criminalise gay sex from the books in 2019.

But high court judges upheld them, keeping Kenya aligned with some other African nations where anti-LGBTQ+ laws and values hold immense sway.

In the 19th century, British colonial rulers outlawed being gay across countless colonies across multiple continents.

But while some African nations have binned the bans, others such as Uganda have sought to make the anti-LGBTQ+ laws even tougher.

Rightify Ghana said Chiloba’s death captures why doing away with such laws can be life-saving – and urged governments to take note.

LGBTQ+ activists in Nairobi (Picture: AP)

‘This is also to remind the Kenyan government and others on the African continent such as the Ghanaian government that this is the reason why the LGBTQI+ community needs protection,’ Rightify Ghana said.

‘Community members, activists and human rights defenders need the States to protect and promote their rights to prevent sad situations like what has happened to Edwin Chiloba.

‘No one deserves to be murdered or violated because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.’

‘Be unapologetically you,’ Chiloba said on Instagram last year, ‘and know that is enough.’

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‘Little did I know that it would be the last time I was seeing my brother.’