Col Tom Byabagamba

During my time at the Hybrid Presidential Protection Unit, we didn’t have sophisticated gadgets such as surveillance cameras, ear pieces, and other close protection gadgets, we rather relied so much on our naked eyes and eye contacts for security.

This was not easy tasks because we were supposed to maintain the law, allow the media to operate freely around the president conducting interviews and other Public Interviews that our President enjoyed at the time.

On the other side as young guys in our youth, who had spent a significant amount of time in the jungles, we were challenged in proving to the world and our families that we were still human, not wasted, traumatised and full of hatred and ethnic division. The government we fought had called us different derogatory names such as Inyenzi (cockroaches), some people in rural Rwanda had been convinced that we had tails and hence not human.

Our Commander Tom Byabagamba of Special Unit in the Presidential Unit was slightly older than us physically but psychologically far older than most of us. Prior to Kagame’s arrival from his American Studies, Commander Tom had spent some time on the front lines fighting. I remember him telling me how he was among the first RPA group that was sent to open up the eastern front in Rusumo under one tough hero Commander Bitamazire whom he lost in one fierce battle.

He had left Secondary School in Kampala as a teenager and joined NRA of Uganda. He told me how he was among a small group of soldiers that crossed to invade Rwanda before 1990 without Fred Rwigyema’s knowledge. He was battle hardened.

Tom was tough on us his juniors in command, he was a disciplinarian, though peaceful and just. He believed in the rights of his troops, comradeship and always vigilant on the primary task: The Pricipal’s Safety, in this case President Kagame as we all agreed.

 

 

Tom worked tirelessly for Kagame, he never had days off, his boots were always laced up and on duty day and night. Kagame trusted him so much and he distrusted all the RPA commanders mostly the battle commanders.

I remember one day Commander Tom told me to watch out on our protection circles, here I mean fellow bodyguards. He was mindful that even our own commanders who regularly came for operation meetings with his Excellency Paul Kagame were capable of eliminating him. I have come to realise that Commander Tom’s sceptism was based on Kagame’s paranoia. As a head bodyguard Tom knew that most Rwandans like many Africans are hungry of power and all the bodyguards shared the idea, fortunately his advice and trainings seem to be keeping Kagame safe as his predecessor Col Joseph Gishaija seems to be maintaining Col Byabagamba’s skills.

Tom was assertive and alert at all times, he believed that security was not only to keep away the enemies but also to safeguard reputation. He always alerted me that as a close bodyguard and a VIP driver my role was to keep the Principal safe. Thus the methodologies didn’t matter what was important was the safety of Kagame.  On many occasions I practiced the response of using cars to keep the principle safe on the road, and here we would get challenged when Kagame himself likes to drive and I might say he had never trained in defensive or security driving. Tom was always cautious and on one time he pointed out to me that if the Principal had to be hurt in anyway we wouldn’t have the answers but instead we would all be put on firing squad.

I was nominated to be the only armoured tank driver for the principal because we had lost trust in many people at the time and Tom knew very well my royalty to the Principal President Paul Kagame a man we decided to endorse with no clear reasons.

As I write this article Col Tom Byabagamba has been sentenced to 21 years of solitude imprisonment by none other than the same principal he constantly warned me and my colleagues of keeping safe.

After this news I have time to reflect on the manner we conducted our Security tasks at the Special Unit of the Presidential Protection Unit. I have had numerous questions to ask myself:

  • Was there really a genuine threat?
  • Why did President Kagame have a constant distrust to everyone around him?
  • Why distrust combat commanders who spent most of their time in operation and war zones while surrounded a brigade of special troops in Kigali town?
  • Why was our Special Unit treated different from the rest of the Army and those on the fore-front of the battles in Rwanda and Congo?
  • How does Kagame justify Tom’s incarceration to Kagame’s children who all along believed Tom was their own uncle?
  • Was Tom really a threat to Kagame? If so..
  • Who is not a threat to Kagame?
  • Who among the ranks is safe?
  • Does Kagame realise the damage he is causing even to his own bodyguard?

The list of all these questions that keep poping up my head is endless but what is evident here is that Kagame is in a very critical situation, before long we might see him incarcerating his own son for luck of trust and a threat for loosing what he did not fight for.

My next article will be about Gen (rtd) Frank Kanyambo Rusagara.

Noble Marara.