Rwandans Voice Mix of Curiosity, Skepticism and Mild Dismissal Over Tooro Succession Drama
Edward Rukidi Kijanangoma, a well-known Ugandan television journalist
The death of Tooro King Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV at 34 and the subsequent choice of a new monarch have drawn sharp commentary from Rwandans, much of it focused on the background of the man selected to succeed him.
King Oyo, who took the throne as a three-year-old in 1995 and became one of the world’s youngest reigning monarchs, died in late August after treatment for cancer. Days later, Babiito clan elders named Prince Edward Rukidi Kijanangoma, a well-known Ugandan television journalist and cousin of the late king, as the next Omukama. The late king’s immediate family has rejected the choice, insisting he left a biological son as heir. The dispute spilled into public view around the burial on 12 September.
On Rwandan social media, conversation quickly turned to Kijanangoma’s earlier chapter in Kigali. Users noted that he worked as a journalist at Rwanda’s former state broadcaster ORINFOR, now the Rwanda Broadcasting Agency, before returning to Uganda and joining UBC as a news anchor and editor. Several posts highlighted that he was previously married to a Rwandan woman and has children from that union. His current wife is from Uganda’s Teso region.
READ ALSO: Tooro Kingdom Split Over Succession as King Oyo’s Burial Nears
Some Rwandans expressed surprise at the shift in public identity. One former parliamentarian asked how a man known in Rwanda as Eddie David Nkurukenzire could now appear as Edward Rukidi Kijanangoma on the Tooro throne. Others described a pattern of people moving between Rwandan and Ugandan professional identities before assuming prominent roles, questioning whether a cultural king should carry such a fluid public profile.
A few comments struck a more dismissive tone, comparing a Tooro king to a village chief by Rwandan standards and treating the entire succession as a sideshow. At the same time, Rwanda’s leading newspaper carried straightforward coverage of the funeral Mass in Fort Portal, quoting the late king’s sister and mother and noting calls for unity amid the tensions.
Not all reaction was critical. Some users pointed out that Kijanangoma’s time in Rwanda and his journalism career gave him broader exposure than many traditional royals. Others simply followed the unfolding family and clan conflict with the same fascination seen across East Africa.
The discussion reflects how closely regional audiences watch Uganda’s traditional institutions. For many Rwandans, the story is less about the late King Oyo’s 31-year reign and more about the unexpected Rwanda connections of the man now at the centre of Tooro’s contested transition. Whether those ties become an asset or a liability for the new monarch remains an open question as the kingdom tries to move past the burial and the public rift.
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