A total of 22 African presidents across the continent joined their counterpart President elect Paul Kagame during his swearing-in for the presidency.
The elect president Paul Kagame won with a landslide in an election with more than 99 percent of the vote. The presidential inauguration featured the main event of swearing-in-ceremony which officially allowed Kagame to lead the country for the fourth time.
The 66-year old President Paul Kagame beat his contenders with 8,822,794 votes (99.18 percent) followed by Frank Habineza of Democratic Green Party with 44,479 (0.5) votes while the third candidate, Mpayimana Phillipe received only 28, 466 votes (0.32).
During the Presidential inauguration ceremony, a dozen of the heads of state and other dignitaries from African nations attended the much-anticipated event on Sunday at a 45,000 seater stadium in Kigali, whereby the crowds had gathered since early Sunday morning of 11 August 2024.
Regional political heads of states and across the continent attended the presidential inauguration 2024 including Samia Suluhu Hassan of Tanzania, Uganda’s Vice President Jessica Rose Epel Alupo of Uganda accompanied by Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba, President Hassan Cheikh Mohamoud of Somalia, Salva Kiir Mayardit of South Sudan who is also the acting Chairperson of the East African Community, Gen Abdel Fattah al-Burhane of Sudan, Wavel Ramkalawan of Seychelles, Gen. Clotaire Oligui Nguema and Gen Mamadou Doumbouya of Guinee-Conakry.
Other Heads of State present were Andry Rajoelina of Madagascar, Joao Lourenco of Angola, Denis Sassou N’gueso of Congo-Brazzaville, Faustin-Archange Touadera of the Central African Republic (CAR), Phillipe Nyusi of Mozambique, Sahle-Work Zewde of Ethiopia and Ismail Omar Guelleh of Djibouti, Nana Akufo Addo of Ghana and Oumaro Sissoco Embalo of Guinea-Bissau, Faure Essozimna Gnassingbe of Togo.
On the other hand, countries such as South Africa, Mali and Uganda sent diplomatic corps to represent their presidents.
Despite no invited president having spoken out a presidential statement, few of them expressed their messages via X’s formerly Twitter.
A statement issued by the State House Spokesperson Hussein Mohamed tackled the existing diplomatic relations between Rwanda and Kenya further noting that Kagame’s reign has positively impacted the countries’ relationships.
“Under President Kagame, Kenya-Rwanda relations have blossomed with commercial and people-to-people ties further consolidating for the mutual benefit of both countries and the region,” the Kenyan State House Spokersperson wrote on X formerly Twitter. (End)