Main image: Members of the public react as the body of the late King Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV makes its way to Karambi Royal Tombs for burial in Fort Portal, Uganda, on September 12, 2026.
An emotional and bitter battle over who would succeed the late king of Tooro, one of Uganda’ traditional kingdoms, has finally been resolved but resentments continue. Tom Oniro Elenyu, in Kampala reports on one of the country’s oldest cultural traditions.
Thousands of people lined the streets of the Ugandan town of Port Portal as the funeral motorcade containing the body of King Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV, once the world’s youngest monarch, was interred in the Royal Tombs during a private ceremony.
Omukama (king) Oyo, who became the monarch of the Kingdom of Tooro at the age of three, died while undergoing treatment for cancer in the US. He was 34.
Tooro is one of Uganda’s five traditional kingdoms abolished in 1967 but restored by President Yoweri Museveni in the 1990s. While the kings are revered by their clans and perform important cultural roles, they have no political power.
56 year old Prince Edward Rukidi Kijanangoma, a TV news presenter, was identified as the next monarch by clan elders. He threw nine coffee beans into Oyo’s grave, a traditional ritual signifying the end of one reign and the start of another.
But the succession has been far from smooth. A bitter row broke out soon after the death of Omukama Oyo. There were claims that traditional rules had been broken and that in fact the late king, who had never married, had a son who he named as the successor in his will.
The feud made international headlines and was followed keenly by citizens in many African states where monarchs and high chiefs still hold considerable traditional power.
But as preparations for the burial began, his sister, Princess Ruth Komuntale, is reported by media sources, including the BBC, as saying that the late king had left a will written in 2022 naming his young son as his successor. It is reported that the Queen Mother, Best Kemigisa informed President Yoweri Museveni about the existence of the two-year old boy.
“I appeal to those fighting over the throne: please, there will be time for all of that,” Best Kemigisa said. “Let us grieve and bury my son King Oyo.
She said: “The will clearly set out the order of succession to the Tooro throne. But that same evening, while my son’s body was still lying next to us, these select clan members held a press conference and declared their own King in disregard of the Will.
“They could have done this anywhere else. Instead, they chose to jubilate while my son was still lying in his casket next to them. That is what has hurt us most. My daughter is devastated. Our family is grieving.”
It is reported that the elders of the Babiito clan, who oversee the traditional rituals, demanded to know who the heir-apparent was as he had never been introduced to them and who the mother was. According to the Babiito customs, the king’s mother and father must come from their royal lineage
Royal guards to the late Ugandan King Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV lead a procession moving the body of their late king to church in Fort Portal, Uganda on September, 12, 2026. (Photo by Badru KATUMBA / AFP)
Settling the succession
Unlike Britain’s monarchy, where the crown passes according to an established line of succession, Tooro’s monarch is chosen from the Babiito, the royal dynastic clan.
The Babiito as per customs convened a general clan meeting at the Karuziika (Palace) on 28 August to decide the Kingdom’s future. Over 100 Babiito princes and princesses attended.
A 21-member Royal Succession Committee, headed by Musuuga (chief of the clan) was then formed. The committee began searching for a successor and settled for the State-run Uganda Broadcasting Corporation television’s news anchor and editor, Edward Rukiidi Kijanangoma on 8 September.
The succession panel said it had carried out “due diligence, consultation and adequate consideration” before selecting Kijanangoma, with 19 members signing the resolution.
Kijanangoma is the son of Prince Christopher Paul Kijanangoma and a grandson of former Tooro king George David Rukidi III.
Among the contenders had been Prince George Desmond Kamurasi – who is the captain and goalkeeper of South East Dons, one of the best-known amateur clubs in the UK . He is said to have declined the opportunity to throw his hat in the ring.
However, with both sides set firmly in their views, it seemed that the matter would be taken to the courts before President Museveni called for it to be resolved amicably “and to favour unity over division”.
President Museveni’s all-powerful son, Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba, who heads the military, doubles as his father’s Senior Presidential Adviser on Special Operations and chairs his political vehicle—the Patriotic League of Uganda – made a decisive intervention.
“My fellow Ugandans,” he said, “the new Omukama of Tooro is His Majesty Edward Rukidi Nyabongo I. Long may he reign. God bless him always. God bless Tooro,” he decreed on15 September: “And I don’t want to hear of court cases. I want to hear of a Coronation date.”
Tradition at the fore
Traditionally, Tooro Kings’ interment is at the Karambi Royal Tombs, or Amagasani , in western Uganda’s Fort Portal city after nine days of mourning when sex, weddings, farming and entertainment are suspended.
Regalia like drums, stools, spears and other symbols of royal authority are placed in a mourning position and turned upside down signifying that the reigning monarch has died and that the royal throne is temporarily vacant.
At Karambi tombs, designated cultural custodians perform traditional burial ceremonies in line with established Tooro customs in which bark-cloth plays a key role with those performing the rites following specific cultural objects, practices and responsibilities.
Tooro kings’ burials involves the chosen prince or heir placing exactly nine coffee beans in the grave signifying that the King has been traditionally interred thereby symbolically sealing his reign both culturally and legally.
Musuuga Charles Kamurasi, who heads the Babiito Royal Clan, submitted Crown Prince Nyabongo’s name to the Muchwa —Tooro Kingdom’s Supreme Council—which is the Kingdom’s top decision-making organ.
The 15 September declaration permitted the Babiito Royal Clan to prepare for the coronation of the new king. Tooro customs dictate that the new king is crowned nine days after the burial of his predecessor.
The new King’s throne name—Edward Rukidi Nyabongo I—marks a fresh chapter for one of Uganda’s oldest cultural institutions. Like Catholic Church Popes, Tooro kings abandon their original names on ascending to the throne.
The coronation date has been set for September 29. It will be as colourful and sacred as the succession and funeral rites, showing that Africa’s rich cultural and traditional heritage is alive and well.
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Dispute over succession of Uganda’s Tooro Kingdom settled amicably
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