Nairobi — Government pathologist Johansen Oduor has revealed that the death of LGBTQ activist Edwin Chiloba was as a result of asphyxia.

Odour on Wednesday said that a post-mortem conducted on the deceased showed that he was suffocated to death after his mouth and nose were stuffed with bits of clothing from jeans and socks.

Chiloba's death has been in the public domain after his body was found dumped in a metal box by the roadside near Eldoret town.

"From our findings, the late Edwin died because of asphyxia. He had a piece of jeans trouser and socks which were tied around his mouth and nose. He also had cyanosis when you look at his fingernails; they were bluish in discoloration, an indication that he was lacking oxygen when he died," Oduor stated.

The government pathologist however clarified that his eyes were not gouged out contrary to earlier reports.

"The eyes were not gouged out, it was presumed so because of decomposition which makes the eyes appear as if they have been gouged out," he said.

Fight suspects are already in police custody in relation to the murder, even as police follow a lead of a possible love triangle.

Among the five suspects arraigned in court in Eldoret Monday was Jacktone Odhiambo, a freelance photographer said to be a longtime friend of the 25-year-old Chiloba, who was a leading activist in Kenya's LGBTQ community.

Earlier on human rights defenders in the country had suspected the killing as a hate crime, even as gayism remains unlawful in Kenya.