Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame and First Lady Jeannette Kagame attend his swearing-in ceremony after a landslide win in last month’s election at the Amahoro Stadium, Gasabo District of Kigali, Rwanda, August 11, 2024.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Rwanda’s all-powerful President Paul Kagame was sworn in Sunday for a fourth term, saying regional peace was a “priority” in the face of ongoing conflict in the neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

Mr. Kagame swept to victory in elections last month with a staggering 99.18% of the vote, giving him another five years in office.

Several dozen heads of state and other dignitaries from African nations joined the inauguration ceremony at a packed 45,000-seat stadium in Kigali, where many were dressed in the green, yellow and blue colours of the Rwandan national flag.

The outcome of the July 15 poll was never in doubt for the iron-fisted Mr. Paul Kagame, who has ruled the small African nation since the 1994 genocide, as de facto leader and then president.

Rights activists said the 66-year-old’s overwhelming victory was a stark reminder of the oppressive regime in Rwanda, with only two candidates authorised to run against him and several prominent critics barred.

Kigali is also accused of stoking instability in the mineral-rich east of the DRC, its much larger neighbour, by backing M23 rebels fighting Kinshasa’s armed forces.

“Peace in our region is a priority for Rwanda yet it has been lacking, particularly in eastern DRC,” Mr. Kagame said in his inauguration address.

“But peace cannot be delivered by anyone or from anywhere no matter how powerful if the party most concerned does not do what is needed,” he said in an apparent barb targeting Kinshasa.

“Angola’s President Joao Lourenco, among those who attended Sunday’s ceremony, was due to have private talks with Mr. Kagame on a DRC ceasefire deal hammered out last month,” the Angolan presidency said.

Luanda (Angola’s capital) brokered the agreement after a meeting between the foreign ministers of DRC and Rwanda.

But on August 4, the day the ceasefire was supposed to take effect, M23 rebels – who have seized territory in the east since launching a new offensive at the end of 2021 – captured a town on the border with Uganda.

A recent U.N. experts report said 3,000-4,000 Rwandan soldiers are fighting alongside M23 and that Kigali had “de facto control” of the group’s operations.

Questioned repeatedly on the issue, Mr. Kagame has not explicitly denied the presence of Rwandan forces in DRC, instead pointing to the “persecution” of the Tutsi minority and the risk of instability on Rwanda’s border.

– ‘Climate of fear’ –

Mr. Kagame is credited with rebuilding a ruined nation after the genocide, when Hutu extremists unleashed 100 days of vicious bloodletting targeting the Tutsi minority, killing around 800,000 people, mainly Tutsis but also Hutu moderates.

But rights activists and opponents say he rules in a climate of fear, crushing any dissent with intimidation, arbitrary detentions, killings and enforced disappearances. With 65% of the population under 30, Mr. Kagame is the only leader most Rwandans have ever 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, one of the tens of thousands who turned out for the ceremony. “His leadership has been transformative for our nation. Under his leadership, Rwanda has risen from our tragic past and forged a path towards prosperity, unity and innovation.”

Mr. Kagame has won every presidential election he has contested, each time with more than 93% of the ballot.

In 2015, he oversaw controversial constitutional amendments that shortened presidential terms to five years from seven but reset the clock for the Rwandan leader, allowing him to potentially rule until 2034.

The story so far: On July 15, Rwanda held its fourth presidential election since the 1994 Tutsi genocide. Partial results released by Rwanda’s National Electoral Commission (NEC) reveal overwhelming support for President Paul Kagame. With 79% of the votes counted, Kagame has secured over 99% of the votes. Opposition leaders Habineza Frank of the Democratic Green Party and Independent candidate Mpayimana Phillippe secured less than one per cent of the votes each.

How did Rwanda politically progress?

On 6 April, 1994, Rwanda’s Hutu President Juvenal Habyarimana was killed in a plane crash, allegedly by the Tutsi-led armed group, the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF). Between April 7 and July 15, 1994, the state-sponsored Hutu armed group massacred over 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus in revenge attacks.

In 1994, the RPF defeated Rwanda’s government, ended the genocide and restored law and order. The RPF took control of Rwanda and established a transitional government of both Hutus and Tutsis, which ruled from 1994 to 1995. Between 1996 and 2002, Rwanda’s leadership was preoccupied with fighting Hutu armed groups in the neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and could not prioritise nation building.

In 2003, Rwanda adopted a new Constitution and became a semi-presidential republic. The same year, multi-party elections were held for the first time. Kagame was elected as Rwanda’s President. Under his leadership, the RPF rapidly consolidated power, winning landslide majorities since 2003. In 2015, the government amended the constitution through a referendum, enabling Kagame to rule till 2034 and strengthening the RPF’s dominance.

What has been the role of Kagame?

A U.S.-trained military officer of Tutsi ethnicity, Kagame joined the RPF in 1990. As the RPF’s leader, Kagame led the armed group to end the genocide. Between 1994 and 2000, he was Rwanda’s de facto leader, first as Vice President and then as Acting President.

According to Rwanda’s Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning, the economy grew by over eight per cent annually under Kagame’s leadership. Between 2000 and 2017, his targeted social welfare schemes lifted over one million people out of poverty, while life expectancy rose from 29 to 67 years. However, Western observers criticised his government as authoritarian for suppressing opposition forces and civil liberties. In 2024, Freedom House accused his government of surveillance, torture, arbitrary detentions, and assassinations of dissents.

What were the issues before Rwanda’s July 2024 elections?

According to the South African Broadcasting Corporation and Al Jazeera, Rwanda’s impressive development record under Kagame was crucial in the 2024 elections, attracting young and first-time voters to the RPF. During his massive rallies, Kagame promised to continue Rwanda’s economic performance and equitable growth, which resonated with the youth’s aspirations for upward mobility.

Women’s empowerment was another vital election issue, with women voters appreciating Kagame’s role in increasing women’s representation in the country’s legislative assembly, the Chamber of Deputies (60% in 2023) and their participation in the labour force (55% in 2023 according to the World Bank).

Civil society organisations raised concerns about political pluralism before the elections. During May-June, the National Election Commission barred opposition leaders and outspoken Kagame critics Victoire Ingabire and Diane Rwigara from contesting for sowing “divisionism” and inadequate paperwork. According to Reporters Without Borders (RSF), the government imprisoned around 20 journalists since 2000 on unlawful grounds. These developments reflected the country’s declining democratic credentials. Since Kagame held the elections after banning multiple opposition groups, civil society organisations said the election was unfair because voters did not have a genuine choice of alternative candidates. The ongoing civil war in the DRC was another pressing issue, with the DRC and the United Nations accusing Rwanda of supporting the M23 armed group.

What do the election results convey?

Kagame’s victory conveys wide-ranging support for his programmes of economic progress and political stability. Given that Rwanda is still a developing country, Kagame’s campaign resonated with the electorate’s aspirations for economic freedom and reaffirmed his successful record of providing the stability needed for development.

Kagame’s victory demonstrates the effectiveness of his party machinery, with opposition candidates struggling to draw crowds. However, Kagame was virtually unchallenged, with opposition candidates receiving one per cent of votes combined, reflecting the RPF’s efforts to suppress genuine political competition. The suppression of the candidates also reflected Kagame’s authoritarian tendencies. The pro-government decisions of the National Election Commission reflected the absence of robust democratic institutions.

Does the Rwanda election hold any significance for Africa’s democratic process?

South Africa, Senegal, Chad, and Rwanda have completed their general elections, others are heading to the polls. While South Africa and Senegal had free and fair elections, polls in Chad and Rwanda saw incumbents controlling opposition forces.

While Rwanda enjoys an impressive developmental record, its authoritarian tendencies and democratic deficits reflect the larger African trends of democratic backsliding and electoral malpractices. Since the RPF was initially an armed group that became the country’s ruling party, its political dominance reflects the persistent issue of militarisation of civilian politics that affects African states like Gabon and Guinea. Kagame’s victory will mark continued political stability, but its military involvement in the DRC will contribute to regional instability.

(Ayan Datta is a research intern at the Africa Studies programme at the National Institute of Advanced Studies and is pursuing a post-graduate degree at the University of Hyderabad)

A voter casts her ballot at a polling station in Kigali during Rwanda’s presidential and parliamentary polls.
| Photo Credit: AFP

Millions of Rwandans were voting in presidential and parliamentary elections on July 15, with the African nation’s leader Paul Kagame widely expected to cruise to victory and extend his iron-fisted rule for another five years.

Rwanda’s de facto leader since the end of the 1994 genocide and President since 2000, Mr. Kagame faces only two challengers after several prominent critics were barred from standing.

University student Gatangaza Bwiza Nelly, among two million first-time voters, said she had “been waiting for this day anxiously.” “I believe that the results will be the same as the results in the previous election. It is quite obvious,” the 21-year-old said.

The lineup is a carbon copy of the last election in 2017, when Mr. Kagame obliterated his rivals with almost 99% of the vote, and there is little doubt about the outcome this year.

Frank Habineza, leader of the Democratic Green Party, and independent Philippe Mpayimana were the only two candidates approved to run against Mr. Kagame out of eight applicants.

With 65% of the population aged under 30, Mr. Kagame — who is running for a fourth term — is the only leader most Rwandans have ever known. The 66-year-old is credited with rebuilding a traumatised nation after Hutu extremists unleashed a genocide targeting Tutsis.

More than nine million Rwandans are registered to cast their ballot across 2,433 polling stations, with the presidential race being held at the same time as legislative elections for the first time.

The Rwanda plan was one of the showcase policies of former Conservative Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to try to curb migrants from making dangerous English Channel crossings.. File.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on July 6 that he is scrapping a controversial Conservative policy to deport asylum-seekers to Rwanda.

“The Rwanda scheme was dead and buried before it started,” Mr. Starmer said in his first news conference. “It’s never acted as a deterrent. Almost the opposite.” The move was one of Mr. Starmer’s first acts in office, though it was widely expected. He had said during his campaign that he would ditch the plan that has cost hundreds of millions of dollars, but never taken flight.

Also read: Explained | Why has densely populated Rwanda agreed to the U.K.’s plan to deport migrants?

Mr. Starmer made the announcement after holding his first Cabinet meeting at 10 Downing St., the day after his Labour Party’s landslide victory overturned 14 years of Conservative rule.

The Rwanda plan was one of the showcase policies of former Conservative Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to try to curb migrants from making dangerous English Channel crossings.

But it was beset with challenges over human rights issues and never managed to deport a single person despite spending hundreds of millions of dollars in a pact with the east African nation.

Suella Braverman, a Conservative hard liner on immigration who is a possible contender to replace Mr. Sunak as party leader, was critical of Mr. Starmer’s anticipated plan to end the Rwanda deal.

“Years of hard work, acts of Parliament, millions of pounds been spent on a scheme which had it been delivered properly would have worked,” she said Saturday before he made the announcement.

Kigali, Rwanda:

A man has been arrested in Rwanda after the discovery of more than 10 bodies buried in a hole in the kitchen of his home in the capital Kigali, police and media reports said Wednesday. Police said the 34-year-old suspected serial killer had lured his victims from bars to his rented home in a Kigali suburb.

Local media said more than 10 bodies had been found, and a source in the Rwanda Investigation Bureau (RIB) told AFP on condition of anonymity that the number of victims so far was 14.

RIB spokesman Thierry Murangira declined to confirm a figure, telling AFP that “the final number will be determined by forensic investigations”.

The suspect had initially been arrested in July on suspicion of robbery and rape among other offences but was granted bail due to a lack of evidence, he said, quoted by local media.

Investigations continued however and he was rearrested on Tuesday and his home searched, leading to the discovery of the bodies dumped in a pit he had dug in his kitchen.

“The suspect confessed that he learned to kill from watching famous serial killers. He dissolved some of his victims in acid,” the RIB source said.

“He would study his victims before stalking them and usually went for those that are most likely not to have close family or friends to look out for them.”

Murangira said the suspect had confessed during interrogation to the killings and that preliminary investigations had found the victims were both male and female.

“He operated by luring his victims, mostly prostitutes, to his home where he would rob them of their phones and belongings and then strangled them to death and buried them in a hole dug in the kitchen of his rented house,” he added.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)