Rwanda's President Paul Kagame, who holds significant power, was inaugurated on Sunday for his fourth term, following a landslide victory in last month's elections where he garnered over 99 percent of the votes.
Several dozen African heads of state and other dignitaries attended the inauguration ceremony held at a packed 45,000-seat stadium in Kigali. The crowds began assembling early in the morning. Kagame took the oath of office in front of Chief Justice Faustin Ntezilyayo, promising to "preserve peace and national sovereignty, and strengthen national unity."
The July 15 election results were never in question for the authoritarian Kagame, who has been in control of Rwanda since the 1994 genocide, first as a de facto leader and then as president. According to the National Electoral Commission, he secured 99.18 percent of the votes, ensuring another five years in power. Rights activists argue that his overwhelming victory highlights the absence of democracy in Rwanda.
Only two candidates were allowed to run against him from a pool of eight applicants, with several prominent Kagame critics being disqualified. Frank Habineza, leader of the Democratic Green Party, managed to secure second place with 0.5 percent of the vote, while independent candidate Philippe Mpayimana received 0.32 percent.
Kagame is praised for rebuilding the nation after the genocide, which saw Hutu extremists kill around 800,000 people, mostly Tutsis but also Hutu moderates. However, critics and rights activists accuse him of ruling through fear, suppressing dissent through intimidation, arbitrary detentions, killings, and enforced disappearances. Rwanda is also accused of fomenting instability in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.
Among the attendees at Sunday's ceremony was Angola's President Joao Lourenco, who was scheduled to have private talks with Kagame regarding a ceasefire deal in the DRC. Angola mediated the agreement last month between the foreign ministers of DRC and Rwanda, although the M23 rebels, supported by Rwanda, captured a town on the border with Uganda on August 4.
With 65 percent of Rwanda's population under the age of 30, Kagame is the only leader most Rwandans have 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, among the tens of thousands who attended the ceremony. "His leadership has transformed our nation. Under his guidance, Rwanda has emerged from its tragic past and is now on 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 supported controversial constitutional amendments that reduced presidential terms to five years from seven but reset the term limits, allowing him to potentially rule until 2034.
