Ugandan police are investigating the murder of Robert Kabera, a former Rwanda Defence Forces (RDF) soldier and outspoken critic of President Paul Kagame. His headless body was found in Mpigi District, near Kampala.
Police spokesperson Kituuma Rusoke told journalists on Monday that officers had registered a murder case after the body was discovered. Police say the head has not been recovered. Local reports say the body was found on Saturday, October 17, in Luwala Village, Kammengo Sub-county.
Relatives identified him. Authorities say investigations are ongoing and no motive has been established. Investigators have not announced any link between the killing and his political activities.
Kabera, aged about 50, was a sergeant major and a familiar figure in Rwanda's military music scene. He was known as a member of the Army Jazz Band, according to a 2008 New Times profile cited by the Associated Press. He fled to Uganda in November 2020, saying his life was in danger. At the time, he said his troubles began with his ties to the late gospel singer Kizito Mihigo, who died in a police cell in Rwanda earlier that year. From exile he used social media to criticise Kigali.
His record is not uncontested. In 2020 Rwandan military prosecutors announced a defilement investigation against him. He dismissed the allegation as false and said he was already in Uganda when the alleged crime took place. Ugandan media reported his arrest in 2022. Any account of his life should carry both the allegation and his denial.
The killing has unsettled Rwandan refugees in Uganda. The Daily Monitor reports that it has caused safety concerns among several Rwandan refugees. The opposition Rwanda National Congress has appealed for justice and stronger protection for exiles, while clarifying that Kabera was not a member of the party. Some dissidents are calling for an independent investigation.
The case echoes earlier killings of Rwandan critics abroad. Journalist Charles Ingabire was shot dead at a Kampala pub in 2011. Former intelligence chief Patrick Karegeya was killed in Johannesburg in 2013, and the Rwanda National Congress said at the time that he was strangled by agents of Kagame. No evidence has been made public linking the Rwandan state to Kabera's death.
Kigali has repeatedly denied targeting political opponents, and President Kagame maintains that his government respects the rule of law. As in earlier cases, the credibility of Uganda's investigation will shape how this killing is read. Unless it identifies the killers and a motive, suspicion will keep filling the gap.
Mustapha Bature Sallama
Medical/Science communicator, Private Investigator, Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Analysis,United States Institute of Peace (USIP), [email protected] +233555275880.
Sources
Daily Monitor, "Uganda Police speak out on beheaded Rwandan dissident" (body found October 17 in Luwala Village, Kammengo Sub-county; police investigating; no motive established): https://www.monitor.co.ug/uganda/news/national/uganda-police-speak-out-on-beheaded-rwandan-dissident-5637690
Daily Monitor, "Rwandan dissident beheaded in Uganda" (safety concerns among Rwandan refugees; the 2011 Ingabire killing): https://www.monitor.co.ug/uganda/news/national/rwandan-dissident-beheaded-in-uganda-5637178
Nile Post, "Police Break Silence on Murder of Rwandan Dissident Beheaded in Mpigi" (Kituuma Rusoke's Monday briefing; murder case registered): https://nilepost.co.ug/crime/379641/police-break-silence-on-murder-of-rwandan-dissident-beheaded-in-mpigi
Pulse Uganda, "Uganda Police confirms murder by beheading of Rwandan dissident Sergeant Major Robert Kabera in Mpigi" (no link to political activities announced; the Rwanda National Congress statement; the 2020 defilement investigation): https://www.pulse.ug/story/uganda-police-confirm-murder-rwandan-dissident-robert-kabera-2026101907373911182
The Observer (Uganda), "Rwandan ex-soldier, government critic beheaded in Uganda" (Army Jazz Band; fled in November 2020): https://observer.ug/news/rwandan-ex-soldier-government-critic-beheaded-in-uganda/
Edge.ug, "Rwandan exile Robert Kabera decapitated in Uganda" (calls for an independent investigation): https://edge.ug/rwandan-exile-robert-kabera-decapitated-in-uganda/
Daily Monitor, "Rwandan soldier flees to Uganda, claims persecution," November 2020 (his own account, the Mihigo connection): https://www.monitor.co.ug/uganda/news/national/rwandan-soldier-flees-to-uganda-claims-persecution-3209486
News Central TV, "Popular Rwandan Soldier-Cum-Musician Flees To Uganda, Alleges Threat To Life" (his denial of the defilement allegation): https://newscentraltv.com/?p=43572
KT Press, "Sergeant Robert Arrested," May 2022 (the 2022 arrest): https://www.ktpress.rw/2022/05/sergeant-robert-arrested/
Wikipedia, "Charles Ingabire": https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Ingabire
Wikipedia, "Patrick Karegeya" (the Rwanda National Congress's claim about his 2013 death): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patrick_Karegeya
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