By Jean-Pierre A.
Human Rights Watch (HRW), an international human rights organisation, has demanded Ugandan authorities to conduct an effective investigation into the killing of Robert Kabera, a Rwandan dissident in Uganda.
According to HRW, Uganda should examine all evidence that points to a possible politically motivated killing.“Ugandan authorities should ensure a prompt, impartial, credible investigation that leads to accountability,” said the rights group in a press release published on Thursday.
The body of Sgt. Maj. Robert Kabera, a singer, former Rwanda Defence Force member, and outspoken critic of the Rwandan government, was found on October 17, 2026, in Luwala village near Kampala, where he was constructing a house. He had fled Rwanda in November 2020 and claimed asylum on political persecution grounds.
He had reported to Human Rights Watch multiple times that he had been threatened and attacked in Uganda, revealed HRW. In a September 2022 interview with Human Rights Watch, Kabera said: “They will kill me. They know where I am … I will die before I get resettled.”
“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,” said Clémentine de Montjoye, senior Great Lakes researcher at HRW.
“Ugandan authorities should investigate all possible motives for the killing and take immediate steps to protect Rwandan dissidents and refugees in the country.”
Ugandan police said on Monday this week, it had started investigation to the gruesome killing of Kabera, who was widely known online for hic commentary on current affairs in Rwanda and the Great Lakes- DR Congo’s armed conflict in the Eastern provinces.
Kabera’s body was found beheaded and with other injuries, according to a relative and a photograph and three videos analyzed by Human Rights Watch. A photograph published by local media on October 18 shows Kabera’s decapitated naked body in a wooded area with blood on the ground next to it. The police reported that Kabera was found dead in a eucalyptus plantation on October 17.
According to HRW, witnesses provided three videos that showed Kabera’s body being transferred from a vehicle onto a trolley in a hospital. A forensic medical expert told Human Rights Watch that Kabera’s body was likely mutilated after he died, the unnatural position of his shoulders seen in the images and the ligature marks on his wrists suggested that his hands were tied behind his back when he died. According to a document seen by HRW, the Ugandan police requested a postmortem medical examination, the results of which are not yet available.
There are many reasons to treat Kabera’s death as suspicious, Human Rights Watch said, and foremost that he was an outspoken critic of the Rwandan government. In a video published on YouTube days before his death, titled “Kill Us if You Want,” he spoke about the Rwandan ruling party’s alleged crimes, as well as the threats and persecution he had faced since fleeing to Uganda.
A relative told HRW that a man speaking Kinyarwanda, who presented himself as a political opponent in need of assistance, had traveled to the construction site with Kabera on the afternoon of October 16. “[Kabera] called me around 11 p.m., and after that no longer picked up the phone,” the relative said. “The man he was with gave me a fake number to call him. The next day, when I couldn’t reach [Kabera], his number didn’t go through.”
On November 23, 2020, a news release by the Rwanda Defence Force Military Prosecution Department announced an investigation into “defilement allegations” against Kabera, and alleged that the crime was committed on November 21, 2020, two days after Kabera said he left the country.
In a May 2023 letter to Human Rights Watch, the Ugandan police inspector general confirmed that Kabera was granted asylum in Uganda on the basis of his claims of political persecution, was being provided with additional security by the police and security forces, and was in the final stages of resettlement to a third country.
Arrest and threats
Kabera faced arrest and multiple physical attacks in Uganda. On May 16, 2022, dozens of Ugandan police and military men arrested Kabera at his temporary home in Kampala, reportedly on charges of smuggling weapons. “They were going to take me away to give me to Rwanda like a gift,” he told HRW in 2022.
He was eventually taken into custody. Kabera said Ugandan police officers beat him and fractured his ankle. A witness who saw Kabera after his release confirmed his injury, says HRW.
According to the rights body, during Kabera’s detention, he said he saw Rwandan officials at the police station, including some who work at the High Commission in Kampala. Kabera was released on bail on May 20 and moved to a new location in Uganda. His arrest warrant was later canceled, and his case closed.