RNC Press Release

RWANDA NATIONAL CONGRESS CONGRES NATIONAL RWANDAIS

18 October 2026

His Excellency Yoweri Kaguta Museveni President of the Republic of Uganda State House, Uganda

RE: APPEAL FOR JUSTICE FOR SERGEANT MAJOR ROBERT KABERA AND ENHANCED PROTECTION OF RWANDAN EXILES IN UGANDA

Your Excellency,

On behalf of the Rwanda National Congress, we extend our respectful greetings and express our appreciation to the Government and people of Uganda for the refuge they have offered generations of Rwandans fleeing insecurity and persecution. For many of our compatriots, Uganda has provided an opportunity to rebuild their lives, raise their families, and recover hope.

Your own experience of exile gives particular significance to this tradition of hospitality. We therefore appeal to your leadership following the killing of Sergeant Major Robert Kabera, popularly known through his music as Sergeant Robert, and the profound fear his death has caused among Rwandans living in Uganda.

Sergeant Major Robert Kabera was not a member of the Rwanda National Congress. We raise his case out of concern for his dignity, his family’s right to justice, and the safety of Rwandans living in exile, regardless of political affiliation.

According to accounts published on 17 October 2026, Kabera was killed in Kamengo, Mpigi District, near the home he was constructing. The reported brutality of his death has deeply distressed his family, friends, and the wider Rwandan community. A place where he was building his future has become the scene of a devastating loss.

Kabera fled Rwanda in November 2020 and publicly stated that he feared for his life. He subsequently became an outspoken critic of President Paul Kagame’s government. His earlier statements about threats and persecution are particularly relevant to understanding the circumstances surrounding his death.

We also draw your attention to reports that Kabera had written appeals seeking protection. We respectfully ask that investigators obtain and authenticate any such correspondence, establish which institutions received it, and examine what responses or protective measures followed. This review should include relevant records held by Ugandan authorities, refugee protection institutions, and other organizations he may have approached.

His family deserves to know whether the threats he described were connected to his killing and whether opportunities existed to prevent this tragedy. Examining these warnings could also identify measures necessary to protect others facing similar risks.

Your Excellency, our concern extends beyond this single case. Under President Paul Kagame, political dissent in Rwanda carries serious risks, and documented efforts to silence critics have extended beyond the country’s borders. Human Rights Watch and Freedom House have described a pattern involving killings, assassination attempts, abductions, disappearances, surveillance, and intimidation of Rwandans abroad. For those targeted, crossing a border has not necessarily brought safety.

Colonel Patrick Karegeya, Rwanda’s former external intelligence chief and an RNC cofounder, was murdered in Johannesburg. General Kayumba Nyamwasa survived a shooting in South Africa and has reported repeated attempts on his life. Human Rights Watch reported that South African investigators submitted written testimony linking Karegeya’s murder and attacks against Nyamwasa to the Rwandan government. These cases demonstrate why threats against Rwandan exiles require serious and sustained attention.

Uganda has also featured in documented accounts of attacks, abductions, and forced returns involving Rwandans. We respectfully ask that Kabera’s killing be investigated with full consideration of this wider history, while allowing the evidence to establish responsibility for his death.

Rwandan refugees share the same dignity and entitlement to protection as all other refugees. Within that community, some individuals face an additional, identifiable danger because of their previous service, public criticism, political associations, or perceived knowledge of sensitive matters. Former soldiers, intelligence personnel, government officials, businesspeople, journalists, and opposition activists may remain vulnerable long after leaving Rwanda.

We therefore seek enhanced protection measures proportionate to each person’s assessed risk. Previous employment by the Rwandan state, or disagreement with its leadership, must never become a lifelong sentence of fear.

Kabera’s public criticism and reported fears make it essential that investigators examine the possibility of a politically motivated attack, including any potential involvement of foreign agents or their intermediaries. The investigation must be free to follow credible evidence wherever it leads.

We respectfully request your intervention to ensure:

1. A thorough and impartial investigation into Kabera’s killing, supported by appropriate forensic examination, preservation of evidence, and a careful review of his earlier warnings and protection requests.

2. The identification and prosecution of all those responsible, including anyone who organized, financed, facilitated, or ordered the crime, should the evidence establish such involvement.

3. Protection and appropriate support for Kabera’s family and witnesses, together with a designated official to keep the family informed of substantive developments.

4. Individual security assessments for Rwandan exiles reporting credible threats, with particular attention to those whose previous service, public activities, or personal circumstances expose them to heightened danger.

5. Accessible and confidential arrangements for reporting threats, including designated contacts within the relevant authorities and timely coordination with refugee protection institutions.

6. An opportunity for an RNC delegation to meet with officials you designate, to present documented concerns and discuss practical measures to strengthen the safety of vulnerable Rwandans.

Uganda’s hospitality has given many people a second chance at life. Kabera’s killing has shaken their sense of security. A credible investigation and effective protection measures would help reassure those who have sought refuge that their lives and dignity remain protected on Ugandan soil.

We recognize that investigative work requires care, discretion, and time. We respectfully ask that the family receive meaningful communication and that verified developments be communicated publicly when doing so would not compromise witnesses or the investigation.

The Rwanda National Congress stands ready to cooperate through lawful channels and provide relevant information in its possession. Sensitive information concerning other threatened individuals would be shared confidentially, with their consent and appropriate safeguards.

Your Excellency, we appeal to your understanding of the vulnerability of exile and your responsibility to protect those living within Uganda. Robert Kabera’s family deserves truth and justice. Other Rwandans who have sought refuge in Uganda deserve the reassurance that rebuilding their lives does not mean remaining within reach of those they fled.

We thank you for your attention to this urgent appeal.

Please accept, Your Excellency, the assurances of our highest consideration.

Ignace Rusagara Attorney-at-Law (Rwanda) Deputy Secretary General and Spokesperson Rwanda National Congress