A prominent exile who criticised Rwanda’s government was discovered beheaded near Kampala, Uganda, a police spokesperson said. The case is still being investigated.
Police said on Monday they were looking into the “murder of a male adult (around 50), whose head was cut off”. Spokesperson Kituuma Rusoke told reporters the head had not yet been recovered. Relatives identified the body as Robert Kabera.
Body found in Luwala village near Kampala
The body was discovered in Luwala, a village close to Kampala. Police added that the killing likely took place late on October 16 or early on October 17.
Robert Kabera’s exile and criticism of Kagame
Kabera, a former sergeant, fled Rwanda several years earlier and was living in Uganda. He had not voiced criticism while serving in the military, but later became increasingly opposed to President Paul Kagame.
He ran a YouTube channel, “Major Robert TV”, which had 144,000 subscribers. One of his videos featured a song praising opposition figure Victoire Ingabire, described as a rare voice of dissent in Rwanda who had been repeatedly imprisoned.
His brother, Victor Agaba, told a news agency that “Robert had no issues with anyone” in Uganda. He blamed problems at home, saying: “Our problem comes from home… The army created a criminal case against him. It was a witch-hunt.” Kabera had been declared a fugitive after leaving Rwanda and accused of corrupting a minor, charges he denied.
Earlier killings of exiled Rwandan opponents
Rwandan authorities have been accused of assassinating opponents of President Kagame, who has governed since 2000. Kabera is not the first exiled opposition figure to be killed.
In 2021, former army lieutenant Revocat Karemangingo was shot dead in Mozambique, where he was suspected of secretly supporting an opposition force. The same year, outspoken critic Seif Bamporiki was shot dead in South Africa.
Patrick Karegeya, a former intelligence chief turned critic, was strangled in his South African hotel room in 2014. Former general Faustin Kayumba Nyamwasa, who co-founded the Rwanda National Congress with Karegeya, has survived several assassination attempts.
