Former Rwandan army sergeant major and vocal critic of President Paul Kagame, Robert Kabera, has been found beheaded in neighbouring Uganda, authorities said, adding his head had not been recovered.
Kabera, 50, was found dead over the weekend on the outskirts of Uganda’s capital, Kampala, the BBC said.
Ugandan police spokesman Kituuma Rusoke said retrieval of Kabera’s head was still pending as investigations into the murders continue.
Kabera fled Rwanda for asylum in Uganda, claiming political persecution. He had been accused of sexual assault, a charge he denied.
As of Monday, the Rwandan government had not officially commented on his killing and the circumstances of his murder remain unclear.
Kabera’s widow Jeanne d’Arc Rwigema Uwizeye told BBC Great Lakes in a written letter she was concerned about the security of her family after his death.
“It’s scary. “I feel crazy, the kids and I don’t have security,” she said.
Kabera’s relatives said he had gone to visit a building project some 45 miles outside Kampala before his death.
Kabera was recognised outside his military duty as a singer and YouTuber. His channel has more than 144,000 subscribers and over 800 videos, many of which attacked Kagame and his administration.
In response to his killing the exiled opposition party Rwanda National Congress called for a full inquiry and justice for those involved.
“Today his family mourns, his voice is silenced, and Rwandans in exile are faced with a terrifying question: where can we be safe?” the group said in a statement on X.
Kabera’s death has raised fresh fears among Rwandan rebels living in exile.
In 2014, Patrick Karegeya, a former head of Rwandan intelligence who helped organise the Rwanda National Congress, was discovered dead in his hotel room in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Karegeya had fallen out with Kagame and was twice detained before fleeing to South Africa in 2007, where he became a vociferous critic of the Rwandan administration.
Kagame made comments largely understood as a warning to his critics following Karegeya’s death.
“Anyone who is alive, who may be plotting against Rwanda, will pay the price. “It’s only a matter of time,” he remarked. “Whoever it is.”
In 2019, South African police filed arrest warrants for two Rwandans suspected of killing Karegeya.
The BBC said the death of Kabera had stirred fears for the safety of Rwandan dissidents residing abroad.
About the Author
