Rwanda president Kagame announces his intention to run for fourth term in 2024 elections

For the first time, Rwandan President Paul Kagame has declared his intention to run for a fourth term in the next elections.

"Yes, I am indeed a candidate," Kagame, who has ruled over the country with an iron fist for decades, told Jeune Afrique, a French-language news magazine, in an interview published online on Tuesday.

"I am pleased with the confidence that Rwandans have placed in me. I will always serve them, as long as I can," the 65-year-old was quoted as saying.

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.

Kagame had not previously made his intentions plain, but in 2015 he presided over contentious constitutional changes that gave him the ability to serve another term and hold onto power until 2034.

Kagame, a former rebel leader, was elected president in April 2000 but has held the position since the 1994 genocide's conclusion.

In the elections of 2003, 2010, and 2017, he was re-elected to office with more than 90% of the vote. 

Despite Rwanda's assertion that it is one of the most stable nations in Africa, rights organisations charge Kagame with instilling a culture of fear and suppressing dissent and free expression.