James Kabarebe (born 1959) is a Rwandan military officer who has served as a Senior Presidential Adviser on security matters in the government of Rwanda, since 19 October 2018. Kabarebe was a key figure in both the First Congo War and the Second Congo War as a commanding officer. Like many officers from both sides of those wars he is accused of leading numerous atrocities against civilians. From 10 April 2010 until 18 October 2018, he was the Rwandan Minister of Defence. He served as a Rwandan Patriotic Army Commander and was an Alliance of Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Congo strategist. In his role of Minister of Defence he was accused of being the de facto leader of the March 23 Movement, a militia in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo also accused of numerous atrocities against civilians during the Kivu conflict. Early life and education James Kabarabe was born in 1959. Raised in Ibanda-Kazo area of western Uganda, he had his early primary education at Kyamate Primary School in western Uganda and attended O-level secondary education at Kabalega Secondary School in Masindi, Bunyoro Western Uganda. He proceeded for A level education at St. Henry's College Kitovu in 1979. He later attended Makerere University, where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics and Political Science. He was commissioned in 1989. Rwandan Patriotic Army James Kabarebe was the private secretary and aide-de-camp (ADC) of Maj. Gen. Paul Kagame. During the Rwandan Civil War, he became Commander of the High Command Unit at Mulindi. Later, this unit became the Republican Guard under Kagame's leadership. According to reports leaked from the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda to reporter and author Judi Rever, Kabarebe presided over the massacre of Hutu civilians in Byumba, north of Kigali, in late April 1994. He arrived at the Byumba stadium and massacre site, "talked with his military colleagues," and "after Kabarebe left, a Lieutenant Masumbuko gave the order to 'open fire on the refugess'", Rever reports in her 2018 book, In Praise of Blood. According to Rever, "Kabarebe's presence inside the stadium has been independently confirmed by several sources interviewed by the tribunal and by me." First Congo War During the First Congo War, Kabarebe was the commanding officer of a Rwandan-led army that crossed into Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo). The aim of the army was to defeat the ex-FAR