President Paul Kagame of Rwanda has announced that he is looking forward to retiring and handing over power after being in office for 23 years.
Kagame has been President of the East African nation since 2000. A controversial referendum in 2015 removed a two-term constitutional limit for Presidents.
Speaking at a joint press briefing with his Kenyan counterpart, William Ruto in the Rwandan capital, Kigali, Kagame disclosed that a succession plan was being actively discussed by the ruling party, calling his retirement an “inevitability”.
The Rwandan President noted that he was not necessarily interested in choosing his successor but rather creating an environment that would give rise to people who can lead.
“We have been having this discussion within our [ruling] party since 2010 but circumstances, challenges and history of Rwanda tend to dictate certain things.”
Paul Kagame
Nonetheless, Kagame said that his retirement is an issue that has to be discussed “sooner or later”.
“I’m sure one day I may join journalism in my old age. I’m looking forward to that.”
Paul Kagame
His comments come days after the country’s ruling party, the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF-Inkotanyi), elected its first woman Vice-Chairperson. The Vice-Chairperson, named Consolee Uwimana was elected by 1,945 votes; about 93% of the votes cast.
Rwanda has one of the world’s highest proportions of women in parliament and government.
Meanwhile, President Kagame retained the chairmanship position. He has led the party since 1998.
This was not the first time Kagame has talked about retirement. In December 2022, he said he had no problem becoming an ordinary senior citizen.
Rwanda’s next general elections is scheduled for 2024.
Ruto Commends Rwanda’s Role In Solving DR Congo Security Crisis
While addressing the media at the joint press conference, President William Ruto of Kenya commended President Paul Kagame and Rwanda for the ‘invaluable’ understanding and contribution in resolving the security crisis in eastern DR Congo.
Speaking on matters of security issues in eastern DR Congo, Ruto appreciated the understanding and contribution of Rwanda in the EAC framework to move forward, noting that in the last three months have seen positive developments around the challenges in the region.
“I commend President Kagame and Rwanda’s understanding of the issues in the eastern DR Congo and their contribution to EAC as we manage the situation in leadership and making sure the people of DRC who have had challenges for many years can, one more time, have peace and concentrate on building their nation”
President William Ruto
“We are working together to see that we stabilize the region so that the DR Congo can have peaceful elections,” Ruto added.
As part of his agenda, Ruto and his counterpart presided over the signing of nine agreements between Kenya and Rwanda in areas of correctional services, diplomatic training, ICT, health, youth, cooperative development, education, agriculture, and gender.
Also, President Kagame commended Kenya’s leadership in helping to resolve the crisis in eastern DR Congo with other members of the regional bloc, emphasizing that putting resources together means owning their development with less dependence on the rest of the world.
“In the last few weeks, we saw some progress, much as there are still other issues to resolve. We just need to do more and register more progress towards the solution.” kagame
Paul Kagame
Kagame asked the ‘outside world’ to support what African leaders are doing instead of getting into the mix themselves with what they think should be the solution.
“It’s better to support the proposed solutions by African leaders,” Kagame added.
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