Paul Kagame was officially sworn in on Sunday for another five-year term as the President of Rwanda, following his overwhelming victory in the election held last month.
The inauguration ceremony took place at Amahoro Stadium in Kigali, where Chief Justice Faustin Nteziryayo administered the oath of office.
The event was attended by several African leaders and a large audience.
In his oath, Kagame pledged to remain loyal to Rwanda, uphold its Constitution and laws, protect national sovereignty, and foster national unity.
Running under the banner of the ruling Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), Kagame secured more than 99% of the vote in the July 15 election. His opponents, Frank Habineza of the Democratic Green Party of Rwanda and independent candidate Philippe Mpayimana garnered only 0.53% and 0.32% of the vote, respectively.
The electoral commission reported a voter turnout of 98% among the approximately 9 million eligible voters.
In his inaugural address, Kagame emphasized the importance of national unity, which he credited as a key factor in his election victory. “Our political process is designed to renew and deepen our unity,” he stated.
Kagame, now 66, sought reelection after a 2015 constitutional amendment permitted him to run for three additional terms. He previously secured a seven-year third term in 2017. The amended Constitution now sets presidential term limits to five years, effective from 2024.
Kagame’s journey to the presidency is rooted in Rwanda’s turbulent history. He grew up as a refugee in Uganda following the Rwandan revolution of 1959-1962, which forced many Tutsis, including his family, to flee the country.
Kagame later became a founding member of Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni’s rebel army in 1979, where he led the intelligence wing and played a significant role in Museveni’s rise to power in 1986.
Rwanda endured a brutal civil war between 1990 and 1994, driven by deep ethnic tensions between the Hutu and Tutsi communities.
The conflict reached its devastating peak during the 1994 genocide, which claimed the lives of around 1 million Tutsis and moderate Hutus. Kagame is widely credited with leading the Rwandan Patriotic Army (RPA), the armed wing of the RPF, in stopping the genocide and establishing peace and unity in the post-genocide era.
Kagame first assumed the presidency in 2000 and has since been re-elected in subsequent elections, including his 2017 victory where he won over 98% of the vote.
