Kagame critic found dead in Uganda – police open murder investigation
A former Rwandan army sergeant and YouTuber who criticised President Kagame has been killed near Kampala. His family blames Rwanda's army; Kigali has not commented.
Archive image · Photo: The Presidential Press and Information Office / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0 (cropped and resized)
An exiled critic of Rwandan President Paul Kagame has been killed in Uganda. Relatives identified the body as that of Robert Kabera, a 50-year-old former army sergeant. Police said it was found in bushland in the Kamengo area of Mpigi district, about 45 kilometres from Kampala; the head has still not been found. Investigators believe the killing took place late on 16 October or early on 17 October. Police say no motive has yet been established.
Kabera fled to Uganda in 2020 and was granted asylum there. On his YouTube channel, which has more than 144,000 subscribers, he criticised the government in Kigali. Rwanda's military declared him a fugitive and accused him of a sexual offence, which he denied. His brother said, according to Al Jazeera, that "our problem comes from home", adding that the army had created a criminal case against Kabera and that "it was a witch-hunt". Rwanda's government did not comment at first; it denies targeting opponents at home or abroad. The opposition Rwanda National Congress has called for a thorough investigation.