Human Rights Watch Urges Thorough Investigation into Brutal Murder of Rwandan Dissident in Mpigi

Global human rights organization Human Rights Watch (HRW) has called on Ugandan authorities to launch a prompt, credible investigation into the brutal murder of Sgt. Maj. Robert Kabera. Kabera, a former Rwanda Defence Force member who fled his home country in November 2020 and sought political asylum in Uganda, was found dead on October 17, 2026, in a eucalyptus plantation in Luwala village, Mpigi District.

The victim’s mutilated and decapitated body showed severe signs of struggle and post-mortem trauma. According to relative accounts and visual evidence reviewed by HRW, Kabera had traveled to his under-construction home accompanied by an unidentified Kinyarwanda-speaking man on October 16 before his phone went dead later that evening. Days prior to his tragic death, Kabera had published a YouTube video exposing alleged crimes by Rwanda’s ruling party.

Despite being officially recognized as a vulnerable asylum seeker awaiting third-country resettlement through the UNHCR, Kabera faced numerous security threats and violent encounters while living in Uganda. In 2022, he survived a high-profile police raid, detention, and alleged physical abuse. He had repeatedly alerted security agencies and rights groups that Rwandan agents were tracking him.

Human Rights Watch emphasized that failing to transparently investigate such crimes violates international law and highlights an ongoing pattern of extraterritorial violence against Rwandan dissidents abroad. Researchers urged Kampala to pursue all potential motives and step up protection for refugees and exiles residing within Ugandan borders.

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