Rwandan President Paul Kagame has announced his new cabinet as he began his fourth term in office.

He appointed 21 ministers and nine junior ministers, otherwise known as ministers of state on Friday.

Only three of the ministers are new with the vast majority re-appointed to retain the ministries they held during Kagame's previous term.

The new faces are: International trade expert Prudence Sebahizi who has been appointed as minister of Trade and Industry, Richard Nyirishema as minister of Sports and Christine Nkulikiyinka as minister of Public Service and Labour.

Kagame's Prime Minister Edouard Ngirente was also sworn in on Friday.

President Paul Kagame himself took oath of office last Sunday for a fourth term after sweeping to victory in elections last month with more than 99% of the vote.

Several dozen heads of state and other dignitaries from African nations joined the inauguration ceremony at a packed 45,000-seat stadium in Kigali, where crowds had started gathering from the early morning.

Kagame took the oath of office before Chief Justice Faustin Ntezilyayo, pledging to "preserve peace and national sovereignty, consolidate national unity."

The outcome of the July 15 poll was never in doubt for Kagame, who has ruled the small African nation since the 1994 genocide, as de facto leader and then president.

He is credited for bringing economic and social development as well as ensuring peace and security in the country. But critics point to his government's crackdown on dissenting voices.

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