Rwanda's President Paul Kagame is set to be sworn in on Sunday for another five-year term after securing a landslide victory in last month's election, where he received over 99 percent of the vote. The inauguration will take place at a 45,000-seat stadium in Kigali, where crowds began gathering early in the morning. Several African leaders are expected to attend the event.
Kagame, who has been the dominant figure in Rwandan politics since the 1994 genocide, won 99.18 percent of the vote in the July 15 election, according to the National Electoral Commission. His victory, though overwhelming, has been criticized by rights activists who see it as evidence of a lack of democracy in Rwanda. Only two candidates were allowed to run against him out of eight applicants, with several of Kagame's prominent critics being barred from the race.
Frank Habineza, leader of the Democratic Green Party, finished second with 0.5 percent of the vote, while independent candidate Philippe Mpayimana received 0.32 percent. The inauguration is scheduled to begin at 3:00 pm (1300 GMT), according to state media.
Kagame is widely credited with rebuilding Rwanda after the genocide, during which Hutu extremists killed around 800,000 people, mostly Tutsis and moderate Hutus. However, critics accuse him of ruling through fear, suppressing dissent, and being responsible for arbitrary detentions, killings, and enforced disappearances. Kagame's government is also accused of contributing to instability in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
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Among the dignitaries attending the ceremony is Angola's President Joao Lourenco, who is expected to hold private talks with Kagame regarding a ceasefire agreement in the DRC. Angola brokered the deal last month between the foreign ministers of Rwanda and the DRC, which accuses Rwanda of backing the M23 rebel group fighting the DRC's armed forces. However, on August 4, the day the ceasefire was supposed to take effect, M23 rebels captured a town on the border with Uganda.
With 65 percent of Rwanda's population under the age of 30, Kagame is the only leader most Rwandans have ever known. He has won every presidential election he has contested, each time with more than 93 percent of the vote. In 2015, he oversaw controversial constitutional changes that shortened presidential terms from seven to five years but reset the clock for him, potentially allowing him to remain in power until 2034.
