For the first time, Rwandan President Paul Kagame has declared his intention to run for a fourth term in the next elections.
Kagame, who has dominated the nation with an iron fist for decades, said in an interview with the French-language weekly magazine Jeune Afrique that was posted online on Tuesday, “Yes, I am indeed a candidate.
“I appreciate the trust the people of Rwanda have shown in me. The 65-year-old was quoted as stating, “I will always serve them, for as long as I can.
The Rwandan government resolved in March to hold the country’s legislative and presidential elections on the same day in August of the following year.
Although Kagame hadn’t previously made his intentions plain, he oversaw contentious constitutional changes that gave him the right to run for office a third time.
Kagame, a former rebel leader, has been recognised as the nation’s de facto leader since the 1994 genocide was put to a halt.
In 2017, he won a third term with about 99 percent of the vote.
