Rwanda's Kagame sweeps presidential polls to win third term

Incumbent Rwandan President Paul Kagame proceeds to cast his vote in Kigali, on August 4, 2017. Rwandans began voting on August 4 in a presidential election widely expected to return strongman Paul Kagame to office for a third term at the helm of the small east African nation. / AFP PHOTO / MARCO LONGARI

 Rwanda's incumbent leader Paul Kagame has sealed a crushing victory in presidential elections that granted him a third term in office, extending his 17 years in power.

Kagame has won international plaudits for presiding over a peaceful and rapid economic recovery in the Central African nation since the 1994 genocide, when an estimated 800,000 people Tutsis and moderate Hutus were killed.