Tooro Kingdom Split Over Succession as King Oyo’s Burial Nears
King Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV in Fort Portal, Uganda, in 2010. Roberto Schmidt / AFP via Getty Images file
FORT PORTAL / KAMPALA — A bitter succession dispute has erupted in Uganda’s Tooro Kingdom just two days before the burial of Omukama Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV, pitting the late king’s immediate family against Babiito clan elders who have named a television news presenter as his successor.
King Oyo, who became the world’s youngest reigning monarch when he took the throne at age three in 1995, died on 27 August 2026 in the United States at the age of 34 while receiving treatment for cancer. His remains lie in state at Karuziika Palace. He is scheduled to be buried on Saturday, 12 September — the 31st anniversary of his coronation — at the Karambi Royal Tombs after a service at St John’s Cathedral in Fort Portal.
On Wednesday evening, a 21-member Babiito royal succession committee announced Prince Edward Rukidi Kijanangoma, 56, a well-known news anchor and editor at the state broadcaster UBC, as the next Omukama. Kijanangoma is a cousin of the late king, the son of the late Prince Christopher Paul Kijanangoma and a grandson of former Omukama Sir George David Rukidi III. Nineteen committee members signed the resolution. Supporters gathered at the palace celebrated the choice of an adult monarch.
The late king’s family immediately rejected the decision.
Family cites the will
Queen Mother Best Kemigisa said in a statement Thursday that the committee ignored a 2022 will read the previous afternoon in the presence of royal family members and government representatives, including Maj Gen Henry Tumukunde, who was representing President Yoweri Museveni. According to the family and the official Tooro Kingdom account, the will names Oyo’s “lawfully recognized biological son” as first heir to the throne. If that son cannot assume the crown, succession would pass to Prince Komwiswa Yoweri, then Prince Nyaika Solomon. The identity of the son has not been publicly disclosed.
Kemigisa said the parties had agreed to reconvene Thursday to discuss succession. Instead, she said, the committee held a press conference the same evening and proclaimed a new king while Oyo’s body was still at the palace. She denounced a “self-appointed group of clan members” and appealed for the family to be allowed to mourn freely, citing restrictions around the palace. Princess Ruth Komuntale, the late king’s sister, also rejected the announcement, saying the family had expected further consultations.
Clan stands firm
The succession committee, led by Omusuuga Charles Kamurasi, the head of the Babiito clan, dismissed the family’s objections. Committee members said Oyo left no son, that the clan holds customary authority to choose a suitable prince, and that those who disagree should take the matter to court. “We are moving on, preparing the functions,” the committee said, adding that people of Tooro should expect peace as coronation arrangements proceed.
Calls for calm
Tooro Prime Minister Calvin Armstrong Rwomiire appealed to both sides to pause the contest until after the burial. In a lengthy statement posted Thursday, he said sharply differing positions had emerged “even before we have laid our King to rest” and that nothing was so urgent that it should sacrifice the dignity of Oyo’s final journey or the unity of the kingdom. He asked the government to help maintain peace and order without choosing a king for Tooro.
Minister of State for Internal Affairs Juma Witonze Kisekka, speaking at Karuziika Palace on Thursday, urged Batooro to remain calm and wait for guidance from President Museveni, whom he called the “Chief Elder.” The government has not formally endorsed either claimant.
Traditional kingdoms in Uganda have no formal sovereignty but retain significant cultural influence. Tooro is one of five kingdoms recognized by the state. King Oyo’s own accession as a child was itself contested; the current dispute revives old questions about custom, written wills, and who has the final say over the throne.
As of Thursday afternoon, the two camps remained entrenched. The burial proceeds on Saturday. The question of who will sit on the Tooro throne after Oyo is unresolved.
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