Paul Kagame

===Accession===
In the late 1990s, Kagame began to disagree publicly with Bizimungu and the Hutu-led government in Rwanda.{{sfn|Kinzer|2008|pp=220, 240–241}} Kagame accused Bizimungu of corruption and poor management,{{sfn|Kinzer|2008|pp=221–222}} while Bizimungu felt that he had no power over appointments to the cabinet and that the [[Transitional National Assembly of Rwanda|Transitional National Assembly]] was acting purely as a puppet for Kagame.{{sfn|Prunier|2009|p=241}} Bizimungu resigned from the presidency in March 2000.{{sfn|BBC News (III)|2000}} Historians generally believe that Bizimungu was forced into resigning by Kagame after denouncing the National Assembly and attempting to sow discord within the RPF.{{sfn|Prunier|2009|p=241}}{{sfn|Caplan|2018|p=161}} However, Kagame told Kinzer that he was surprised by the development saying that he had received the "startling news" in a phone call from a friend.{{sfn|Kinzer|2008|p=224}} Following Bizimungu's resignation, the [[Supreme Court of Rwanda|Supreme Court]] ruled that Kagame should become acting president until a permanent successor was chosen.{{sfn|IRIN (I)|2000}}

Kagame had been de facto leader since 1994, but focused more on military, foreign affairs and the country's security than day-to-day governance. By 2000, the threat posed by cross-border rebels was reduced and when Bizimungu resigned, Kagame decided to seek the presidency himself.{{sfn|Kinzer|2008|p=220}} The transitional constitution was still in effect, which meant the president was elected by government ministers and the Transitional National Assembly rather than by a [[direct election]].{{sfn|United Nations (V)}}

The RPF selected two candidates, Kagame and RPF secretary general [[Charles Murigande]]; the ministers and parliament elected Kagame by eighty-one votes to three.{{sfn|BBC News (IV)|2000}} Kagame was sworn in as president in April 2000.{{sfn|BBC News (V)|2000}} Several Hutu politicians, including the prime minister [[Pierre-Célestin Rwigema]], left the government at around the same time as Bizimungu, leaving a cabinet dominated by those close to Kagame.{{sfn|Kinzer|2008|p=224}} Bizimungu started his own party in 2001, but Kagame's government banned it on the grounds that political campaigning was not permitted under the transitional constitution. The following year, Kagame issued a public statement to Bizimungu, warning him that the government's patience with his continued involvement in party politics was "not infinite",<ref name=":1">{{Cite news |title=Former Rwandan pres arrested |author= |agency=[[South African Press Association]] and [[Associated Press]] |work=[[News24 (website)|News24]] |date=21 April 2002 |access-date=18 August 2021 |url= https://www.news24.com/news24/former-rwandan-pres-arrested-20020421}}</ref> and Bizimungu was arrested two weeks later{{sfn|IRIN (V)|2002}} and convicted of corruption and inciting ethnic violence, charges which human rights groups said were politically motivated.{{sfn|Asiimwe|2007}} He was imprisoned until 2007, when he was [[Prerogative of mercy (Rwanda)|pardoned]] by Kagame.{{sfn|BBC News (VI)|2007}}