Rwanda President Paul Kagame has today been sworn in for another seven year term office at a ceremony held at the Amahoro National Stadium in the capital Kigali.
Kagame took the oath of office as President of Rwanda at around 11:50a.m, sworn in by the Chief Justice Prof. Sam Rugege who handed him a copy of the constitution, national flag and the coat of arms as symbolic instruments of power.
Moments after, the Chief of Defence Staff General Patrick Nyamvumba handed him a shield and sword symbolic of national defence. The ceremony was witnessed by 20 Heads of State from across Africa in a fully packed Amahoro Stadium.
Later, He signed the oath of office to officially start his new term of office. Kagame beat two other opponents in the August 4th elections with 98.4 percent of the vote. Frank Habineza, the main opposition party leader and Philippe Mpayimana, an independent candidate shared the remaining percentage of the votes.
In his inaugural address, Kagame pledged to invest in good education in the country and ensure that the private sector is also doing well. He added that Rwanda will ensure that “those who perished to build Rwanda and to liberate Africa did not sacrifice all in vein.”
Prior to the days events, Ugandan President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni arrived to an arousing welcome. Museveni’s motorcade drove into the Stadium to cheers from thousands of Rwandans while others sang Museveni, Museveni. He removed his hat to honour the army (Rwanda Defense Force).
The newly re-elected Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta and South Sudan President Salva Kiir have also arrived at the Amahoro Stadium. The other heads of state to arrive for the ceremony include the one from Namibia, Sudan, Congo, Chad, Togo, Zambia, Gabon, Senegal, Niger and Djibouti.
The 59-year-old Paul Kagame was considered Rwanda’s de facto leader when he served as Vice President and Minister of Defence from 1994 to 2000. However, he took over office in 2000 when his predecessor, Pasteur Bizimungu, resigned.
He won the 2003 presidential elections with more than 95 percent of the vote, and garnered 93 percent in 2010. His party, the RPF won the 2008 parliamentary elections with about 79 percent of the votes, and took 76 percent of the 2013 vote.
