The discovery of a headless body in Mpigi District has raised questions about the safety of Rwandan nationals living in Uganda, particularly those who have fled political disputes in their home country. The victim, Robert Kabera, was a former Rwandan army officer who had sought refuge in Uganda and become a vocal critic of President Paul Kagame’s government.
Kabera, 50, was found dead in Luwala Village, Kamengo Sub-county, on October 17, 2026. His head was missing, and investigators had yet to establish who killed him, where the missing body part was or what motivated the attack.
The killing came against a backdrop of concerns about threats against Rwandan dissidents living abroad. Kabera had previously reported threats and alleged assaults, saying he feared for his life while awaiting resettlement to another country.
Ugandan police confirmed the murder and began investigating the circumstances surrounding his death. The body was taken to Mulago City Mortuary for a postmortem examination.
Police spokesperson Kituuma Rusoke said the deceased had been identified by his relatives, while Katonga Police Region spokesperson Lydia Tumushabe said Kabera’s brother recognised him through his shoes and a scar on his right thumb.
The circumstances of Kabera’s final hours remain a key part of the investigation. Accounts provided by relatives indicate that he was seen with another man shortly before his death, but there has been no public confirmation that the man was involved in the killing.
Kabera had warned of threats to his life
Kabera left Rwanda in November 2020 and sought asylum in Uganda, saying he feared persecution. He later became known for his online criticism of the Rwandan government through his YouTube channel, Major Robert TV, which had attracted more than 140,000 subscribers.
His concerns about his safety had been documented years before his death.
In September 2022, Kabera expressed fears that he could be killed before he secured resettlement in another country.
“They will kill me. They know where I am … I will die before I get resettled,” he said.
In May 2023, Uganda’s Inspector General of Police confirmed in a letter to Human Rights Watch (HRW) that Kabera had been granted asylum on the basis of his claims of political persecution. The letter indicated that he was receiving additional protection from police and other security agencies, while arrangements for resettlement through the United Nations refugee agency were reportedly at an advanced stage.
Kabera also reported earlier attacks. In July 2022, he said a group of men had assaulted him and taken his phone, threatening him in Kinyarwanda: “We know where you are. We will take you back home, you will see.”
In October 2023, he reported another incident in which three men allegedly threatened to find and kill him even if he travelled to the United States.
These reports had raised concerns about his safety, but they do not independently establish who was responsible for his death.
Questions surrounding his final hours
Information shared with HRW by a relative indicated that Kabera visited a construction site on the afternoon of October 16 in the company of a man who spoke Kinyarwanda and presented himself as a political opponent seeking assistance.
The relative said Kabera made a telephone call at around 11pm but subsequently stopped answering his phone. The man who had accompanied him reportedly provided a telephone number that the relative later suspected was false.
Other accounts indicate that Kabera travelled from Kampala to Luwala at around 7pm that evening on a motorcycle ridden by a boda boda operator he regularly used. He reportedly visited a nearby bar, returned home to collect his phone, later came back with food and subsequently left again.
The following morning, his brother, Victor Agaba, went looking for him after finding his home locked. He was later informed that a headless body had been discovered nearby.
The accounts have not established whether the man reportedly seen with Kabera was involved in his death. Police had not publicly identified a suspect or confirmed a motive in the initial reports.
From military service to government critic
Kabera previously served in the Rwanda Defence Force (RDF), where he worked as an instructor and soloist with the military’s Army Jazz Band. He was also known as Sergeant Robert.
After leaving Rwanda, he used his YouTube channel, Major Robert TV, to criticise the government and discuss alleged abuses by the country’s leadership.
His departure coincided with a dispute with Rwandan military authorities. In November 2020, the RDF Military Prosecution Department announced an investigation into allegations of unlawful sexual contact involving a family member. The military said the alleged offence occurred on November 21, two days after Kabera said he had left Rwanda.
Kabera denied the allegations, describing the case as politically motivated.
Days before his death, he published a video titled “Kill Us if You Want”, in which he spoke about alleged crimes by Rwanda’s ruling party and the persecution he said he had experienced in exile.
HRW has also said Rwandan authorities previously sought Kabera’s return to Rwanda and that he was among government opponents whose deportation had been sought from Uganda. No publicly established evidence had, however, linked a particular individual or government agency to his killing.
Human Rights Watch calls for an impartial probe
On October 22, HRW urged Ugandan authorities to investigate Kabera’s death promptly and impartially, including examining whether his political activities could have played a role.
Clémentine de Montjoye, the organisation’s senior Great Lakes researcher, said Kabera had understood that his criticism of the Rwandan government could expose him to danger.
“It was clear from our conversations that Robert Kabera knew his criticism of the Rwandan government made him a target, and that he feared for his life,” she said.
“Ugandan authorities should investigate all possible motives for the killing and take immediate steps to protect Rwandan dissidents and refugees in the country,” she added.
HRW said photographs and videos of Kabera’s body raised further questions about the circumstances of his death. A forensic medical expert consulted by the organisation suggested that some mutilation may have occurred after death and that marks on the wrists could indicate his hands had been tied behind his back.
These observations were not a substitute for official postmortem findings, which had not been publicly released at the time of the organisation’s statement.
The organisation has documented killings, kidnappings, attempted abductions and attacks involving Rwandans living abroad. It has accused Rwandan authorities and alleged proxies of intimidating critics outside the country, accusations the Rwandan government has denied.
The RNC and the Kandiho question
Kayumba Nyamwasa is a former senior Rwandan military officer who fell out with Kagame’s government and went into exile. He later became associated with the Rwanda National Congress (RNC), an opposition movement established by Rwandan exiles.
The movement has opposed Kagame’s leadership, while Rwandan authorities have accused some opposition groups abroad of threatening the country’s security. Such accusations do not, in themselves, establish responsibility for a specific crime.
Abel Kandiho, meanwhile, is a former head of Uganda’s Chieftaincy of Military Intelligence, which was later renamed the Defence Intelligence and Security directorate. His tenure coincided with strained relations between Uganda and Rwanda and allegations of arbitrary arrests, detention and mistreatment involving Rwandan nationals and Ugandans suspected of collaborating with Rwandan intelligence.
The reference to Kandiho’s arrest has now become central to a possible explanation being raised about Kabera’s killing. However, the circumstances of the arrest, the identity of any alleged retaliators and the evidence connecting the events have not been established in the statement by Uganda’s military chief.
The cases of other Rwandan dissidents killed abroad, including former intelligence chief Patrick Karegeya, who was found strangled in Johannesburg in 2014, have also contributed to wider concerns about the safety of exiles. Those cases do not prove who was responsible for Kabera’s death.
Muhoozi raises a possible motive
It was against this background that Chief of Defence Forces Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba publicly weighed in on Kabera’s killing, suggesting that investigators should consider a possible link to the Rwanda National Congress and alleged retaliation over Kandiho’s arrest.
Muhoozi said his office had not been notified about Kabera before the killing. He did not identify any suspects or present publicly verifiable evidence connecting the RNC to the murder.
“I hear there was a former RDF officer who was killed recently in the country. First of all, my office was never notified about the gentleman. I highly suspect that certain elements of Kayumba’s RNC were responsible. Are they retaliating for Kandiho’s arrest? We shall get to the truth,” Muhoozi wrote.
The CDF’s remarks introduce a new theory into the investigation, but the alleged RNC connection remains unverified. Establishing whether the killing was linked to Kandiho’s arrest will require evidence identifying those responsible and demonstrating a connection between the events.
The immediate questions remain unanswered: who killed Kabera, why was his head removed, where is it, and was his death connected to the threats he had reported over several years?
No individual or organisation had been publicly established as responsible for the killing in the reports available at the time of writing. The motive remained unconfirmed, and the official postmortem findings had not been publicly released.
