Ugandan authorities' obligation to conduct an effective investigation into the brutal killing of a Rwandan dissident requires examining all evidence that points to a possible politically motivated killing, Human Rights Watch said today. Ugandan authorities should ensure a prompt, impartial, credible investigation that leads to accountability.
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. 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 Human Rights Watch. "Ugandan authorities should investigate all possible motives for the killing and take immediate steps to protect Rwandan dissidents and refugees in the country."
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.
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 Human Rights Watch, 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 Human Rights Watch 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.
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 Human Rights Watch 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.
During his detention, Kabera 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.
In late July 2022, a group of young men assaulted him and took his phone. "I couldn't fight because I was still injured from when I was beaten in detention," he told Human Rights Watch. "The men said in Kinyarwanda: 'we know where you are. We will take you back home, you will see.'" Kabera reported the incident to the police on August 1, 2022.
In October 2023, three men attacked him and told him: "You are lying, even if you go to America we will find you and kill you," he told authorities, based on a report Human Rights Watch reviewed.
Rwandan authorities openly-and reportedly also privately-included Kabera in demands to Ugandan authorities to deport several high-profile government opponents to Rwanda. In a September 14, 2021 police statement reviewed by Human Rights Watch and written in response to a protection request, a Kampala city official stated that Kabera "needs help for protection because we cannot offer him the needed security" because "his country is putting him in newspapers that he is training terrorists (rebels)." The official asked the United Nations refugee agency and the Norwegian Refugee Council to ensure his safety and security. He has been repeatedly featured in online posts about opponents in Uganda who were critical of the Rwandan government.
It is tragic that despite multiple warnings and official recognition by Ugandan security forces and the UN of the risks he faced, Kabera remained in Uganda exposed to threats and attacks, Human Rights Watch said.
Rwanda and Uganda are both parties to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights and to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which impose obligations to guarantee the right to life (articles 4 and 6 respectively). The treaties include an absolute prohibition on arbitrary deprivation of life and a strict obligation to conduct an independent, impartial, prompt, transparent, and thorough investigation into a suspicious death that is capable of establishing the facts and identifying those responsible. Failure to conduct such an investigation itself constitutes a violation of the right to life.
In a 2023 report, Human Rights Watch documented that Rwandan authorities and their proxies are using violence, judicial mechanisms, and intimidation to silence criticism from Rwandans living around the world. Human Rights Watch documented over a dozen killings, kidnappings or attempted kidnappings, enforced disappearances, and physical attacks targeting Rwandans living abroad.
Uganda and other host countries should protect Rwandan refugees and asylum seekers, enhance security for those reporting threats or abuse, and thoroughly investigate all reported incidents to ensure accountability.
UN agencies should strengthen existing refugee resettlement programs by including resources to address the threat of extraterritorial abuses against refugees by agents or proxies of country-of-origin governments known for such abuses, including Rwanda.
Robert Kabera's brutal killing is a reminder of the gravity of the risks faced by Rwandan refugees," de Montjoye said. "Governments and regional and international institutions should hold Rwanda accountable for its human rights violations at home and abroad.
