Kigali, Rwanda — Rwanda's President Paul Kagame has been sworn in for a fourth term in office following July 15 elections.
Kagame, 66, secured a fourth term on a Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) ticket secured after beating his two challengers -- Frank Habinenza of the Democratic Green Party of Rwanda and independent candidate Philipe Mbayimana.
Kagame took oath of office shortly before 4 pm Sunday at the ultra-modern Amahoro Stadium in Rwanda's Capital Kigali in the presence of Rwandans and international guests in a ceremony led by Rwanda's Chief Justice Faustin Ntezilyayo.
President William Ruto, who flew in from Nairobi on Sunday, was among African leaders present.
The inaguration saw Kagame presented with symbols of office including Rwanda's Constitution, the flag and the country's coat of arms.
He was then accorded a 21-gun salute. A presentation of Rwanda's national anthem followed.
The ceremony also featured a military parade and traditional dances.
Kagame will now rule the East African nation for the next five years.
High-level delegations
Other leaders who graced the event include Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, President of Somalia, Samia Suluhu of Tanzania and South Sudan's Salva Kiir Mayardit.
Uganda's Deputy President Jessica Alupo represented President Yoweri Museveni.
Other leaders who graced the ceremony include President Emmerson Mnagangwa of Zimbabwe, Umaro Sissoco Embaló of Guinea-Bissau, Botswana's Mokgweetsi Masisi, Nana Akufo-Addo of Ghana, Andry Rajoelina, President of Madagascar, Filipe Jacinto Nyusi, President of Mozambique, Faustin-Archange Touadéra, President of Central African Republic, Faure Essozimna Gnassingbé, President of Togo, King Mswati III of Eswatini and Gabon's Transitional President General Brice Oligui Nguema.
Wavel Ramkalawan, President of Seychelles, Congo-Brazzaville's Denis Sassou Nguesso, Vice-Président of Côte d'Ivoire, Tiemoko Meyliet Koné , Mamadi Doumbouya, President of Guinea, Patrice Trovoada, and Prime Minister of Sao Tome and Principe were also present.
Kagame who has ruled Rwanda since 2000 has won praise and criticism in equal measure both at home and abroad.
Simmering tensions
Those who praise his leadership have cited his role in transforming and rebuilding the nation from the ashes of the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda which left 800,000 dead.
His fourth term in office comes amid a simmering conflict between Twanda and her neighbors Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Burundi over the ongoing security situation in the Eastern DRC where the Congolese and allied forces have been battling the M23 rebels group.
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In recent months President Kagame has come under heavy accusations from the United Nations, the United States, and his DRC counterpart Felix Tsishekedi over his backing of the M23 rebels who continue to wreak havoc in the Eastern DRC.
Kigali has dismissed the allegations as "baseless".
In March, amid tensions between Rwanda and DRC, Kigali has continued to demand for the demobilization and repatriation of the DRC-backed Democratic FDLR rebel group as a condition to de-escalate a simmering conflict with Kinshasa.
The demand came after the United States called on Rwanda to immediately withdraw its troops from the DRC and remove its surface-to-air missile systems, citing concerns over civilian safety and commercial flight operations in eastern DRC.
President Kagame maintained that he will not back down, emphasizing that DRC support for FDLR "is a matter of state policy, not the choice of individual actors."
"Ending Congolese state support for FDLR, and ensuring their demobilization and repatriation to Rwanda, is a non-negotiable requirement to protect Rwanda's territorial integrity and guarantee the preservation of our hard-won national unity for future generations," Kigali said in March, asserting that Rwanda reserves the right to take any legitimate measures to defend itself.
