KIGALI: A stampede at President Paul Kagame’s campaign rally in Rwanda has left one person dead and injured dozens.
According to the national broadcaster, the incident took place ahead of a vote widely expected to extend the incumbent’s 24-year iron-fisted rule in the country.
Kagame has been Rwanda’s ruler since the end of the genocide in 1994 which killed 800,000 lives, mostly Tutsis and Hutus.
The 66-year-old, President since 2000, will face the same rivals as he did in 2017, the leader of the opposition Democratic Green Party, Frank Habineza, and former journalist, Philippe Mpayimana, who is running as an independent candidate.
Campaigning started on Saturday, with Kagame addressing rallies in Rubavu and Musanze in northern Rwanda on the weekend.
The state-run Rwanda Broadcasting Agency reported that one person died and 37 others were injured in a stampede that occurred during the RPF-Inkotanyi campaigns in Rubavu on Sunday.
“The Ministry of Local Government asked those participating in the campaign to follow the instructions and regulations aimed at ensuring safety and security,” the broadcaster added.
Earlier, Rwandan courts dismissed appeals from prominent opposition figures Victoire Ingabire and Bernard Ntaganda to remove previous convictions that stopped them from contesting.
The election commission also barred Kagame’s critic Diane Rwigara, saying she had failed to provide a criminal record statement. It said the political leader also did not meet the threshold of acquiring 600 supporting signatures from citizens.
Kagame, elected by parliament in 2000 after the resignation of former president Pasteur Bizimungu, has won three elections with more than 90 percent of the votes in 2003, 2010 and 2017.
He has been praised for the economic recovery of Rwanda after the genocide but faces criticism over political repression and rights abuses.
