KIGALI, Rwanda (AP) — Tom Byabagamba, a former commander of President Paul Kagame’s elite presidential guard who later was convicted of inciting insurrection, has died in prison after spending a dozen years behind bars, his brother said. He was 59.
Byabagamba, who held the rank of colonel before he was stripped of it, was the brother of former presidential adviser and now-exiled dissident David Himbara, who announced Byabagamba's death Tuesday in a statement
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“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 give a cause of death.
There was no immediate comment from authorities in Rwanda, where the subject of Byabagamba is taboo. He was commander of the presidential guard until he apparently had a falling out with the president and was removed from his post in 2010, with no reason given.
Rwandan authorities detained Byabagamba in August 2014 along with another officer, Brig. Frank Rusagara. In 2016, the Military High Court sentenced them to several years in prison over charges including inciting insurrection and tarnishing the government’s image. Rusagara died in prison last year.
Many critics saw the trial as flawed, and Human Rights Watch said the case followed a pattern of silencing government critics at home and abroad.
In 2019, the Court of Appeal reduced Byabagamba’s initial 21-year sentence to 15 years.
Rwanda's government denies targeting its opponents, even as Kagame’s critics say his authoritarian stance leaves no room for internal dissent. Many senior army officers have fallen out with Kagame, with some fleeing into exile because they believed their lives had been threatened.
Kagame is credited for transforming Rwanda from a country in shambles after the 1994 genocide. But he also faces persistent criticism for what human rights groups say are widespread abuses, a muzzling of independent media and suppression of political opposition. He denies the accusations.
