Former Rwandan Presidential Guard Commander Dies in Prison After 12 Years
Tom Byabagamba, a former commander of Rwanda's elite Republican Guard who once served as President Paul Kagame's personal bodyguard, has died in prison after 12 years in detention, his brother announced on Tuesday. He was 59.
Byabagamba's elder brother, David Himbara, a former economic adviser to Kagame who later became a prominent critic of the Rwandan government, announced the death in a statement posted on social media.
"It is with profound sadness that we announce the death of our beloved brother, Colonel Tom Byabagamba, who passed away while in prison in Rwanda," Himbara said. He did not disclose the cause of death. Himbara told the BBC Great Lakes service that the family did not know the cause because "no-one was allowed to see him in all these years."
Byabagamba had been imprisoned since his arrest in August 2014. He was arrested along with Frank Rusagara, a retired brigadier-general, and the two were accused of "spreading rumours" and "tarnishing the image of the country and government," according to the BBC. Byabagamba denied the allegations, saying they were fabricated, the BBC reported.
In 2016, Rwanda's Military High Court convicted Byabagamba of inciting insurrection, tarnishing the government's image, concealing evidence, and contempt of the national flag, sentencing him to 21 years in prison and stripping him of his military rank and medals. In December 2019, the Court of Appeal upheld the convictions but reduced the sentence to 15 years.
Rusagara, who had been secretary-general of the defence ministry, was given a 20-year sentence. He died in prison in March last year. Human Rights Watch described his death as the "lonely death of a general," noting that his family had not heard his voice since 2014, days before his arrest, and that authorities informed them he had been ill with cancer.
Human Rights Watch said the trial of the two men was "flawed," marked by "serious allegations of torture and witness tampering," and that the case followed a pattern of silencing government critics at home and abroad. The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention concluded in 2017 that Byabagamba's detention was arbitrary and called for his release, according to ChimpReports. The campaign group Freedom Now also criticized the detention as "arbitrary" and violating international law, the BBC reported.
Rwandan authorities defended the prosecution as lawful, and the government denies targeting its opponents. Kagame's critics say his authoritarian stance leaves no room for internal dissent, and many senior army officers have fallen out with him, with some fleeing into exile. Kagame is credited with transforming Rwanda after the 1994 genocide but faces persistent criticism from human rights groups over alleged abuses, muzzling of independent media, and suppression of political opposition.
Byabagamba served in Kagame's personal protection detail from 1990 and commanded the Republican Guard between 2003 and 2010. He was later deployed to the UN peacekeeping mission in South Sudan before his arrest. He leaves behind two sons and a wife.