Full Breakdown
Former Rwanda Presidential Guard Commander Dies After 12 Years in Prison
8/26/2026, 9:56:59 PM
Death of Colonel Tom Byabagamba
On July 12, 2024, Tom Byabagamba, a former colonel who once led President Paul Kagame’s elite Republican Guard, died while incarcerated in Kigali. Byabagamba was 59 and had spent almost exactly twelve years behind bars following his arrest in August 2014. Rwandan prison and defence officials did not immediately provide a cause of death or comment on the circumstances.
Background and Imprisonment
Byabagamba rose through the Rwanda Defence Force after the 1994 genocide, serving in Kagame’s personal protection detail from 1990 and commanding the Republican Guard between 2003 and 2010. After a deployment to a United Nations peacekeeping mission in South Sudan, he was detained in August 2014 alongside Brigadier Frank Rusagara. The Court of Appeal reduced the term to 15 years in December 2019, noting the original sentence exceeded the statutory maximum. Byabagamba’s brother-in-law Rusagara died in prison in March 2025, shortly before his own release.
Official Statements & Responses
David Himbara, Byabagamba’s elder brother and former economic adviser to Kagame, announced the death in a social-media statement. Rwandan authorities have not issued a public explanation, and the government maintains that the prosecution was a lawful response to offenses against state security.
Human-Rights Criticism
Human Rights Watch described the trial as “flawed,” citing serious allegations of torture and witness tampering. The United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention classified the detention of Byabagamba, Rusagara and Sergeant François Kabayiza as arbitrary in 2017 and called for their release and compensation. Rwandan officials have repeatedly defended the convictions as legitimate judicial actions.
Verbatim Quote
“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,” — David Himbara
