Kagame, 67, has not been seen in public since June 6, as evidenced by his X account, generating rumours online and in the country given his usual energetic and omnipresent role.

For many Rwandans, Kagame is a visionary hero who modernised the country but others see him as a ruthless dictator who violently stamps out opposition.

He has effectively ruled Rwanda since 1994, when he led a rebel uprising to overthrow the extremist Hutu regime responsible for the genocide that killed more than 800,000 members of the Tutsi minority.

Kagame was re-elected last year for a fourth term with more than 99 percent of the vote.

A dissident based in Canada claimed this week that the president was suffering from a “brain injury” being treated in Germany, though a German diplomatic source told AFP they had no information on the matter.

“There is nothing to be worried or concerned about,” Rwandan government spokesperson Yolande Makolo told Taarifa, a local news site.

“He is a human being, and like anyone else, he takes time to rest. There is nothing unusual or alarming,” an unnamed “family member” told the same site.

The Rwandan army, in a post on X, labelled as “fake” a statement falsely attributed to them on social media, claiming the president was facing a “serious health crisis”.

str-jf/jcp/er/kjm

© Agence France-Presse