Paul Kagame informed a French television station that he will run for president again in 2024.
He altered the constitution in 2015, enabling him to remain until 2034.
Official results from the last presidential election five years ago indicated he received 99 percent of the vote, which many outside the nation rejected as a fraud.
When asked whether he will compete for re-election, Mr. Kagame, 64, said: “I’d contemplate running again in 20 years. That is not an issue for me. Elections are about individuals making decisions.”
According to Lewis Mudge, Central Africa Director of Human Rights Watch, “what comes as a surprise is that some people are actually astonished.”
“Rwanda is a nation where opposing the government, much alone being a political opponent, is very hazardous… and this authoritarian system will remain the system for the foreseeable future,” he stated.
One renowned Rwandan critic is considerably harsher.
“If he continues for another 20 years, Rwanda would be hell,” says Charles Kambanda, a lawyer and university professor living in the United States.
Mr Kambanda claims that Rwandans already live in a fearful environment, and that many ministers have informed him that they stay in power because they fear being killed if they quit.
President Kagame, on the other hand, has vehemently defended Rwanda’s human rights record, most notably during a Commonwealth conference in the capital Kigali in June.
Months earlier, in April, the United Kingdom revealed contentious intentions to transfer some asylum seekers who arrive on British coasts to Rwanda for screening and possible refuge.
The UN criticised it, comparing it to “trading commodities,” but the British prime minister’s office has promised to continue the strategy despite Boris Johnson’s departure.
Mr. Kagame came to power in 1994, after his rebel troops helped put a stop to the slaughter.
Since then, he has positioned himself as a champion of progress, but opponents say he still retains a tight grip on what is essentially an authoritarian administration.
