Colonel Who Once Shielded Rwanda's President Dies Behind Bars, 12 Years After His Arrest

Tom Byabagamba, the former commander of Rwanda's presidential guard who spent years as President Paul Kagame's personal bodyguard, has died in custody at the age of 59, more than a decade after he was detained.

The colonel was taken into custody in 2014 alongside his brother-in-law, Frank Rusagara, a retired brigadier-general who had previously served as secretary-general of the defence ministry. Both men were accused of "spreading rumours" and "tarnishing the image of the country and government" — charges that drew immediate alarm from human rights organizations, which viewed the prosecutions as part of a wider campaign against dissent within Rwanda.

Throughout his trial, Col Byabagamba insisted he was innocent, maintaining consistently that the accusations levelled against him had been invented.

Details surrounding his death remain scarce. His brother, David Himbara, told the BBC's Great Lakes service that the family still does not know what killed him, explaining that "no-one was allowed to see him in all these years" — a reflection of the isolation in which he was held for much of his imprisonment.

In 2016, a military court found Col Byabagamba guilty and sentenced him to 21 years behind bars, though that term was subsequently shortened to 15 years following an appeal. Rusagara received a sentence of 20 years at the same proceedings.

Rusagara did not survive his own incarceration. He died in prison in March of last year, and Human Rights Watch marked the occasion by describing it as the "lonely death of a general," pointing out that his relatives had not heard his voice since 2014, shortly before he was detained. According to the rights group, officials told the family at the time that he had been suffering from cancer.

The convictions of both men stemmed from what Human Rights Watch characterized as a "flawed trial," one shadowed by "serious allegations of torture and witness tampering." The group's assessment has echoed long-standing concerns raised by international observers about the fairness of the proceedings.

Freedom Now, an advocacy organization that campaigned on behalf of the two detainees, had also condemned their imprisonment, calling it "arbitrary" and stating that it breached international legal standards.

Their cases fit into a broader pattern, according to campaigners. Rights groups have repeatedly charged that Kagame's government suppresses political opposition and muzzles critics both inside Rwanda and beyond its borders, leaving little room for independent voices in the country's public life.

Col Byabagamba's death closes a chapter on one of the most closely watched detainee cases in Rwanda, but it also renews questions about the treatment of high-profile political prisoners in the country. He is survived by his wife and two sons.