2017 is almost here. In my homeland of Rwanda, President Paul Kagame will begin his 3rd term that will stretch to 2034 according to the 2015 constitution. If Kagame successfully rules until 2034, he will have been in power for 40 years.
To give a sense of how long he has already been in power, he took over as a military General in 1994 initially using a figurehead presidency of Pasteur Bizimungu. President Bill Clinton was in office in the U.S.
Kagame removed Bizimungu in 2000. A year later, Clinton’s second ended, and was succeeded by George W Bush.
George Bush second term was completed in 2009, and in came Barack Obama. Kagame begun his second 7-year term a year later in 2010.
Here comes the 4th American president since Kagame’s ascendancy to power – Donald Trump who begins his term in January 2017.
Assuming that Trump serves two terms, he will leave office in 2025. Kagame will still have 9 years – assuming that he won’t change the constitution and grab more years beyond 2034.
David Himbara
