Following the election commission’s exclusion of eight other candidates, including his most vocal adversaries, the 66-year-old former rebel leader emerged victorious with 99.18% of the vote in the July ballot.
Leaders in the West and the region praised Kagame for his role in putting an end to the genocide in 1994 and transforming Rwanda into a desirable location for aid and investment. However, he has denied all charges of violating human rights, repressing dissent, and aiding rebels in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, all of which have damaged his reputation
“Our nation has made good progress during the past 30 years. “With this new mandate, even more effort must begin,” Kagame remarked.
“The expectation to continuously improve is a reality, not a pipe dream. We are capable of doing it and we will.
Thousands of people attended Sunday’s swearing-in ceremony at Kigali’s Amahoro national Stadium, with many of them donning T-shirts with the national flag’s yellow, green, and blue colors on them.
The audience cheered as the military saluted Kagame with 21 guns. There were twenty-two heads of state from African nations present.
2015 saw a reform to Rwanda’s constitution that gave Kagame more time to serve as president.
The Democratic Green Party’s Frank Habineza and the independent Philippe Mpayimana, who ran against him last month, both declared their defeat. According to human rights organizations, the election was tainted by a crackdown on the media, the opposition, and civil society organizations.
Throughout the election campaign, a government spokeswoman consistently dismissed such criticism.
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