(3 Minutes Read)
Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame was sworn in on Sunday for a fourth term after sweeping to victory in elections last month with more than 99% of the vote. Several dozen heads of state and other dignitaries from African nations joined the inauguration ceremony
Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame was sworn in on Sunday for a fourth term after sweeping to victory in elections last month with more than 99% of the vote. Several dozen heads of state and other dignitaries from African nations joined the inauguration ceremony at a packed 45,000-seat stadium in Kigali, where crowds had started gathering in the early morning.
Kagame took the oath of office before Chief Justice Faustin Ntezilyayo, pledging to preserve peace and national sovereignty and consolidate national unity. The outcome of the July 15 poll was never in doubt for Kagame, who has ruled the small African nation since the 1994 genocide, as de facto leader and then president.
He won 99.18% of ballots cast to secure another five years in power, according to the National Electoral Commission. Rights activists said the 66-year-old’s overwhelming victory was a stark reminder of the lack of democracy in Rwanda. Only two candidates were authorised to run against him out of eight applicants, with several prominent Kagame critics barred. Democratic Green Party leader Frank Habineza scraped into second place with 0.5% of the vote against 0.32% for independent Philippe Mpayimana.
Kagame is credited with rebuilding a ruined nation after the genocide, when Hutu extremists unleashed 100 days of vicious bloodletting targeting the Tutsi minority, killing around 800,000 people, mainly Tutsis but also Hutu moderates. With 65% of the population under 30, Kagame is the only leader most Rwandans have ever known.
But rights activists and opponents say he rules in a climate of fear. Kigali is also accused of stoking instability in the east of its much larger neighbour the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Read Also:
https://trendsnafrica.com/over-5000-delegates-expected-for-africas-food-forum-in-rwanda/
Kagame’s leadership has been transformative for the nation. Under his leadership, Rwanda has risen from our tragic past and forged a path towards prosperity, unity, and innovation. Kagame has won every presidential election he has contested, each time with more than 93% of the ballot. In 2015, he oversaw controversial constitutional amendments that shortened presidential terms to five years from seven but reset the clock for the Rwandan leader, allowing him to potentially rule until 2034.
