The discovery of a beheaded former Rwandan soldier in Uganda has renewed fears over the safety of Rwandans who oppose President Paul Kagame while living abroad.

Robert Kabera, 50, was found dead on the outskirts of Kampala over the weekend. Ugandan police spokesperson Kituuma Rusoke said on Monday that investigators had yet to recover his head.

Kabera, a former army sergeant major, had become known for his criticism of Kagame through music and online videos. His YouTube channel had more than 144,000 subscribers and over 800 videos, many of them targeting the Rwandan president and his administration.

He left Rwanda after being accused of sexual assault, a charge he denied, and sought asylum in Uganda, saying he faced political persecution.

His family said he had gone to inspect a construction site about 45 kilometres outside Kampala before he was killed.

Kabera’s widow, Jeanne d’Arc Rwigema Uwizeye, told BBC Great Lakes that she was now worried about the safety of herself and their children.

“It is scary. I feel crazy; the children and I don't have security,” she said in a written message.

The Rwandan government has not issued a public statement on the killing. Meanwhile, the exiled opposition group Rwanda National Congress (RNC) has called for a full investigation and for those responsible to face justice.

“Today, his family is grieving, his voice is gone, and Rwandans in exile are confronting a terrifying question: where can we be safe?” the group said in a statement on X.

The killing has revived memories of Patrick Karegeya, a former Rwandan intelligence chief and co-founder of the RNC, who was found dead in a Johannesburg hotel room in 2014.

Karegeya had fallen out with Kagame, served an 18-month prison sentence for insubordination and desertion, and later fled to South Africa in 2007, where he became a prominent critic of the government.

Following his death, Kagame said: “Any person alive who may be plotting against Rwanda, whoever they are, will pay the price. Whoever it is, it is a matter of time.”

Several critics of Kagame have been killed in Rwanda and abroad, and Kabera’s death has added to concerns about the risks faced by dissidents in exile.