Police in Mpigi District have opened investigations into the killing of a Rwandan former soldier and musician, Robert Kabera, whose headless body was discovered at a construction site in Kamengo. Kabera, 50, popularly known as Sergeant Robert, was a former instructor and soloist with the Rwanda Defence Force (RDF) Army Jazz Band. His body was discovered on Saturday, October 17, 2026, at a eucalyptus plantation in Luwala Village, Kamengo Sub-county, where he was building a house.
Family members told investigators that Kabera arrived from Kampala at about 7 pm on October 16, accompanied by his regular boda boda rider, identified as Innocent. He later went to a bar in Luwala trading centre. His brother, Victor Agaba, reportedly told investigators that he became concerned when Kabera was missing the following morning. He searched for him at home and at the bar, where an attendant said Kabera had last been seen the previous night.
At about 2 pm, the village defence secretary informed Agaba that an unidentified headless body had been found. Agaba reportedly identified the body through a scar on the right thumb and shoes recovered near the scene. Police officers who visited the site found the body lying in a pool of blood.
Police at Kamengo, assisted by detectives from Kampala, reportedly recovered a large stick suspected to have been used in the attack, two beer bottles and shoes. Mulago National Referral Hospital had reportedly received a police request to conduct a postmortem examination to establish the cause of death. The killing comes years after Kabera, who fled Rwanda for Uganda in November 2020 with his wife, expressed fears for his safety while living in the country as a registered refugee.
On September 11, 2021, he wrote to local authorities seeking protection, claiming that accusations circulating against him in Rwandan media were politically motivated and that he feared for his life. Local leaders subsequently forwarded his appeal to police and refugee protection agencies.
On October 23, 2023, the chairperson of Sserwanga Village LC1 in Mengo Parish, Kampala Central Division, wrote to Old Kampala Police Station introducing Kabera as a resident and reporting that he had been attacked by three men on Rubaga Road. The letter, stamped as received by KCCA Central Division on the same date, stated that the assailants fled in a black car without number plates after Kabera shouted for help.
“Even if you run to America, we will find you and kill you,” the men reportedly told him. Kabera’s departure from Rwanda followed allegations by the RDF’s Military Prosecution Department that he had sexually assaulted a teenage family member in Ndera, Gasabo District. Kabera denied the allegations, describing them as politically motivated.
In May 2022, Ugandan security forces arrested him at his residence and detained him at the Special Investigations Division in Kireka over alleged unlawful possession of a firearm. He was later released on police bond. While living in Uganda, Kabera was also a vocal critic of the Rwandan government on social media. Uganda Police have not issued an official statement detailing the circumstances of his killing-URN. Give us feedback on this story through our email: kamwokyatimes@gmail.com
