Former Rwandan presidential guard commander dies in prison, brother announces

Tom Byabagamba, who once led President Paul Kagame’s elite presidential guard, died in a Rwandan prison at the age of 59, according to a statement from his brother, former adviser David Himbara. Byabagamba had been removed from his post in 2010 and arrested in August 2014 alongside Brig. Frank Rusagara.

In 2016 a military high court convicted them of inciting insurrection and tarnishing the government’s image, handing Byabagamba a 21-year term that was later reduced to 15 years by the Court of Appeal. Rusagara died in prison the previous year. Human Rights Watch and other critics have described the trial as part of a broader pattern of silencing opponents. Rwandan authorities have not commented on the death, and the subject remains sensitive within the country.