Paul Kagame, who received 99% of the vote in last month’s election, was sworn in for a fourth term as president of Rwanda.
While some applaud Mr. Kagame for restoring peace and stability to his nation following the genocide in 1994, others charge him with leading an oppressive government in a nation where the general populace is unwilling to publicly criticize him.
Human rights organizations claim that the narrow margin of his election victory is evidence of Rwanda’s lack of democracy. In the election scheduled for July 15, just two candidates were permitted to run against Mr. Kagame.
All four of his presidential campaigns have seen him receive at least 93% of the vote. Numerous African heads of state were among the thousands of people who crowded Kigali’s Amahoro National Stadium, which can hold 45,000 spectators, for the ceremony.
Mr. Kagame pledged to uphold national sovereignty, maintain peace, and strengthen national unity upon taking the oath of office.
He also pledged to “never use the powers conferred upon me for personal interests”.
“Should I fail to honour this oath, may I be subjected to the rigours of the law,” he said.
Since his then-rebel troops came to power at the conclusion of the genocide, which saw the death of over 800,000 ethnic Tutsis and moderate Hutus, Mr. Kagame has been the true power in Rwanda, having forced the regime’s overthrow.
Rwanda has remained comparatively calm ever since, with President Kagame aiming to make his nation the “Singapore of Africa”. The African Basketball League, an NBA venture, is based in the capital, one of Africa’s cleanest cities.
International celebrities including Kendrick Lamar have performed there, and in 2022 it played host to the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting.
While Mr. Kagame frequently criticizes the West, he has also made an effort to forge partnerships. One such alliance was with the UK about the deportation of asylum seekers to Rwanda, a policy that was agreed upon with the previous Conservative government.
Although things are better in Rwanda, Mr. Kagame is charged with causing instability in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, a neighboring country. Days before the July election, 4,000 Rwandan troops were reported to be in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
These forces are suspected of providing support to the M23 rebel organization, which has stoked a tense relationship between the two nations.
Under Mr. Kagame, Rwandan forces have twice invaded the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), claiming to be hunting down Hutu militants connected to the 1994 massacre.
Among the African leaders present during the inauguration was Félix Tshisekedi, the president of the Congo.
In his speech, Mr. Kagame seemed to be criticizing Mr. Tshisekedi for not doing more to aid in the defeat of Rwandan insurgents who were headquartered in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
He added that attempts at mediation would fail unless that changed. He did not sound like a man willing to bow to pressure and cease providing support to the M23 rebels.