Tag: Paul Kagame

Rwandan President Paul Kagame has been sworn in for a fourth term after sweeping to victory in an election last month with more than 99 percent of the vote.

Several dozen heads of state and other dignitaries from African nations attended the inauguration ceremony on Sunday 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, consolidate national unity”.

The outcome of the July 15 poll was never in doubt for Kagame, who has ruled the small African nation since its 1994 genocide, first as de facto leader and then president.

He won 99.18 percent of the 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 percent of the votes against 0.32 percent for independent Philippe Mpayimana.

DRC ceasefire talks

Kagame is credited with rebuilding a ruined nation after the genocide when members of the Hutu majority unleashed 100 days of attacks targeting the Tutsi minority, killing about 800,000 people, mainly Tutsis but also Hutu moderates.

But rights activists and opponents have said Kagame rules in a climate of fear, crushing any dissent with intimidation, arbitrary detentions, killings, and disappearances.

Kigali is also accused of stoking instability in the east of its much larger neighbour the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

Angolan President Joao Lourenco, who was among those attending Sunday’s ceremony, was due to have private talks with Kagame on a DRC ceasefire, the Angolan presidency said.

Luanda brokered the agreement last month after a meeting between the foreign ministers of the DRC and Rwanda, which is accused of backing the M23 rebel group fighting Kinshasa’s armed forces.

But on August 4, the day the deal was supposed to take effect, M23 rebels – who have seized territory in the east since launching a new offensive at the end of 2021 – captured a town on the border with Uganda.

With 65 percent of the population aged under 30, Kagame is the only leader most Rwandans have ever known.

“I proudly cast my vote for President Kagame and made it a priority to be here today to witness this historic inauguration,” said Tania Iriza, a 27-year-old trader, one of the tens of thousands of Rwandans who turned out for the ceremony.

“His leadership has been transformative for our 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 percent of the vote.

In 2015, he oversaw 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.

Rwandan President Paul Kagame is poised to extend his 24-year rule by another five years with a landslide victory, as most of the votes from Monday’s election have been counted.

Partial results announced by the electoral commission show that he has 99.15% of the vote so far, with about 79% of ballots counted.

The 66-year-old faced no significant opposition, with prominent figures barred from running. His two challengers collectively garnered less than 1% of the vote.

Mr. Kagame expressed gratitude to Rwandans for their trust during an address at his Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) party headquarters.

“These are not just figures, even if it were 100%, these are not just numbers. [They] show trust, and that is what is most important,” Mr Kagame said.

His opponents – environmentalist Frank Habineza and journalist and author Philippe Mpayimana – have 0.53% and 0.32%, respectively.

The full provisional results are expected by July 20, with the final results to be released by July 27.

These results are unsurprising, reflecting the 2017 election in which the same candidates competed, and Mr. Kagame won with 98.8% of the vote.

At least three candidates were disqualified from running, including Diane Rwigara, a vocal critic of Mr. Kagame.

The electoral commission reports that 98% of the over 9.5 million eligible voters participated in the elections.

Voters were choosing a president and 53 legislators.

Elections for 27 special seats designated for women, young people, and people with disabilities are scheduled for Tuesday.

Mr. Kagame has been Rwanda’s de facto leader since the end of the 1994 genocide and has served as president since 2000.

While rights groups accuse him of restricting freedoms, his supporters credit him with economic growth and reducing ethnic divisions.

President of Rwanda, Paul Kagame, has declared that he will stand for reelection a fourth time in 2019.

“Yes, I am indeed a candidate,” Mr Kagame told French-language magazine Jeune Afrique on Tuesday.

Asked about what the West would think about his decision to run again, Mr Kagame said, “I’m sorry for the West, but what the West thinks is not my problem.

“I am happy with the confidence that the Rwandans have in me. I will always serve them, as much when I can.”

In April, President Kagame made a lighthearted remark about looking forward to retirement after 23 years in office, but the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF-Inkotanyi), the country’s ruling party, reelected him as its chairman. Mr. Kagame has been at the helm of the party since 1998 and has served as the President of Rwanda since 2000.

In 2015, a controversial referendum removed the constitutional limit of two seven-year terms for presidents, replacing it with two five-year terms. However, this change allowed Mr. Kagame to run for another seven-year term, with the alterations set to take effect in 2024. He secured victory in the last election in 2017, winning with 98.8% of the vote.

During President Kagame’s tenure, Rwanda has experienced relative political stability, but critics and human rights organizations have accused his government of restricting political freedoms and suppressing dissent.

The Rwanda Patriotic Front (RPF) leadership is currently grappling with maintaining the image of Rwanda following a clan meeting organized by a group of influential leaders to ordain a leader. This event has the potential to foster factionalism within President Paul Kagame’s party.

After the gathering on July 9, several senior party officials who attended the ceremony were briefly detained and questioned due to pictures and videos showing them dancing at the venue circulating.

During the Abakono Clan meeting, Rwandan business magnate Justin Kazoza was crowned clan chief, and funds were raised for various activities. However, the ruling party swiftly condemned the event, viewing it as an attempt to divide the nation.

While party chairman President Kagame refrained from commenting on the matter, the ruling party cautioned its members against engaging in sectarianism.

Although the meeting may seem innocuous at face value, it has put the RPF in a challenging position, given that the party has always prided itself on promoting national unity and eliminating discrimination based on ethnic and cultural identities, while advocating for Ndu’munyarwanda.

After 23 years in service, Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame has stated that he is looking forward to his retirement and the transfer of power.

In a joint press conference with his Kenyan counterpart, William Ruto, Mr. Kagame stated that the ruling party was actively discussing a succession plan and that his retirement was “inevitable” while speaking in Kigali, the capital of Rwanda.

Mr. Kagame claimed that he was less concerned with selecting his successor than he was with cultivating a climate that would produce leaders.

“We have been having this discussion within our [ruling] party since 2010 but circumstances, challenges and history of Rwanda tend to dictate certain things,” he said.

He said his retirement was an issue that has to be discussed “sooner or later”.

“I’m sure one day I may join journalism in my old age. I’m looking forward to that,” Mr Kagame said.

His comments come days after the country’s ruling party, the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF-Inkotanyi), elected its first woman vice-chairperson.

President Kagame retained the chairmanship position. He has led the party since 1998.

This was not the first time Mr Kagame has talked about retirement. In December 2022, he said he had no problem becoming an ordinary senior citizen.

Since 2000, Mr. Kagame has served as the country’s president. A contentious vote in 2015 overturned the constitutional restriction on presidents serving two terms.

The president announced last year that he would run for office once more in the 2024 election to a French television station.

M23 rebellion, a showdown with Félix Tshisekedi, criticism from the international community, reception of migrants, but also longevity in power and the Rwandan presidential election of 2024… An exclusive interview with Rwanda’s president Paul Kagame.

Politically, diplomatically, and economically, Rwanda wants to box in a category that is superior to it, gaining access through sheer force of will and strictly enforced governance.

Ever more hotels, ever more malls, ever more order, cleanliness and security… Second, only to Cape Town in the number of congresses and conferences, Kigali offers itself up as the face of Rwandan success.

If in terms of notoriety and brand image, Rwanda Inc. now seeks to replace the thousand mass graves of the Tutsi genocide, it is to Paul Kagame that we owe this transformation, undoubtedly unique.

Source: www.theafricareport.com

Rwanda’s president has said he’s had a “good discussion” with the UN secretary general about de-escalating the situation in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Conflict has been raging in the region for months between the DR Congo’s army and the M23 rebels who seized two more towns over the weekend.

The situation has prompted the DR Congo government to expel Rwanda’s ambassador to Kinshasa, a decision Rwanda has noted “with regret”.

In a tweet posted on Monday, President Paul Kagame wrote that the “ways and means to de-escalate and address the issues to a peaceful end are with us … We just have to commit ourselves to applying them”.

The African Union has expressed its “extreme concern” at the deteriorating security situation and called for called for an immediate cessation of fighting.

Kinshasa has repeatedly accused Rwanda of supporting M23, an accusation Kigali has always denied.

Different initiatives by the Angolan president and the East African Community – which both countries belong to – have been unable to stop the violence and resolve the decades-long conflict.