Byabagamba joined Kagame’s close protection detail in 1990 and commanded Rwanda’s Republican Guard from 2003 until he was removed, without public explanation, in 2010 — the same year his brother, presidential adviser David Himbara, fled the country and became a critic in exile. He was arrested on 23 August 2014. The case against him centred on a text message to a fellow officer saying Rwanda was “not well governed.”
He Guarded Kagame For 20 Years And Died In His Prison
For twenty years, Col. Tom Byabagamba’s job was to protect Paul Kagame. On 25 August 2026 he died inside a Rwandan prison, aged 59. His family say the military called to tell them, and gave no cause.
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