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Paul Kagame has always gained at least 93% of the vote in presidential elections
Paul Kagame has been sworn in for a fourth term as Rwanda’s president after winning 99% of the vote in last month’s election.
While some hail Mr Kagame for bringing peace and stability to his country after the 1994 genocide, others accuse him of running a repressive regime in a country where ordinary people are afraid to openly criticise him.
Rights groups say the margin of his electoral victory is proof of the lack of democracy in Rwanda.
Only two candidates were allowed to stand against Mr Kagame in the 15 July election.
In his four presidential elections, he has always gained at least 93% of the vote.
Several African heads of states were among the many thousands who attended the ceremony in the packed 45,000 capacity Amahoro National Stadium in the capital, Kigali.
In his oath of office, Mr Kagame vowed to preserve peace and national sovereignty, and to consolidate national unity.
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.
Mr Kagame has been the real power in Rwanda since his then rebel forces came to power at the end of the genocide in which some 800,000 ethnic Tutsis and moderate Hutus were slaughtered, ousting the genocidal regime.
Since then, Rwanda has been relatively stable, with Mr Kagame seeking to turn the country into the “Singapore of Africa”.
