Rwandan President Paul Kagame has taken office for a fourth term of five years after winning a massive election last month with more than 99 per cent of the vote.
Several dozen heads of state and other dignitaries from African nations attended the inauguration ceremony on Sunday at a packed 45,000-seat stadium in Kigali, where crowds had started gathering in the early morning.
Kagame took the oath of office before Chief Justice Faustin Ntezilyayo, pledging to “preserve peace and national sovereignty, consolidate national unity”.
The outcome of the July 15 poll was never in doubt for Kagame, who has ruled the tiny African nation since its 1994 genocide, first as de facto leader and then president.
According to the National Electoral Commission, he won 99.18 percent of the ballots cast and secured another five years in power.
Rights activists said the 66-year-old’s overwhelming victory was a stark reminder of the lack of democracy in Rwanda.
Only two candidates were authorised to run against him out of eight applicants, with several prominent Kagame critics barred.
Democratic Green Party leader Frank Habineza scraped into second place with 0.5 percent of the votes, against 0.32 percent for independent Philippe Mpayimana.
