A few days ago, we published an article on the disputes that followed the death of the king of Tooro before an amicable settlement was reached. After a period of mourning, the new king has been installed.
The Kingdom of Tooro in western Uganda now has a new Omukama (monarch 56-year-old television journalist Edward Rukidi Kijanangoma.
Renamed Edward Rukidi Nyabongo I, he becomes the kingdom’s 14 th Omukama , succeeding his cousin, Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV.
King Oyo died on 27 August in the US, where he was receiving cancer treatment. The coronation comes nine days after his interment on 12 September, as Tooro customs dictate.
Ahead of Nyabongo’s coronation on 29 September, women were forbidden by Tooro culture from taking part in the traditional procession that ushered Omukama -designate Nyabongo into Karuziika Palace on the night of 28 September. But the same Tooro cultural etiquette allowed women to attend the church service and the ultimate coronation ceremony.
The traditional procession, part and parcel of the traditional rituals leading up to Nyabongo’s crowning, started in the evening from Rwengoma Palace, went through the city of Fort Portal and culminated at Karuziika Palace.
The Omukama -designate then faced a ‘baptism of fire’ in a mock fight upon reaching the Mugabante or royal gate at Karuziika Palace. The mock battle declared him the victor, signifying that kingship and leadership do not come easily and must be won.
The new king was then allowed to enter the palace and assume his royalty on the throne. Inside the palace, the traditional rituals of turning upright the hitherto upside-down royal regalia following the death of the predecessor king in August took place. The traditional royal drums and spears had been turned upside down.
President Yoweri Museveni was the coronation chief guest at the ceremony. The coronation now ends the reign of Best Kemigisa as Queen Mother, who henceforth assumes the title of Queen Emeritus. Kemigisa is credited with raising the late King Oyo, who became king at the age of only three, and keeping and protecting the crown and throne of Tooro for 31 years when Oyo was Omukama .
Museveni advised hereditary leaders to stay away from active politics, which they should leave to ordinary citizens.
He also urged cultural leaders to preserve indigenous languages. “We must also guard our language, culture and indigenous science jealously. Our local knowledge is disappearing. In our culture, we’re very thorough: the way we sit, eat…” Museveni told the coronation gathering that included several cultural leaders and dignitaries.
“I call upon our cultural leaders to thoroughly address the institution of marriage and promote responsible family life. We must go back to our traditional ways of conducting marriages, which provided clarity and helped maintain social order. We are facing serious challenges,” the President said.
Museveni said he regretted “the prevalence of HIV in this part of the country and Western Uganda. Karamoja [in nomadic North-Eastern Uganda], on the other hand, has maintained strong cultural practices around marriage and has a lower HIV prevalence.”
He also praised the indigenous Ankole long-horned cattle commonly reared in western Uganda, despite, he said, discouragement from some modern veterinary scientists.
“I sold some to South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, and now South Africans claim they [Long-horned Ankole cattle] are theirs!” he joked.
“We must preserve our indigenous science, crafts, cultural practices and heritages. These are important for our identity and our survival.”
Before colonialism, traditional kings in Uganda wielded immense political and military powers, as well as imposing and collecting taxes.
Ceremonial roles
However, after a period when the institution of monarchy was abolished, Museveni revived it in the1990s. kings and cultural leaders now preside over constitutional monarchies. Their role is largely ceremonial and strictly cultural in nature. They are barred from active political participation in the country.
In his inaugural royal speech, Nyabongo pledged to improve his subjects’ household income, protect the environment, create jobs for Batooro youth, among other in-tray of demands expected of a king. “
The $250,000 coronation budget was given a leg-up by Museveni’s Chief of Defence Forces, his son and prospective Presidential successor, Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba, with a donation of $28,000.
The Omuhikirwa (Prime Minister) of Tooro Kingdom, Calvin Armstrong Rwomiire Akiiki, expressed what most in the kingdom felt when he said: “May you always be guided by wisdom in your decisions and may your reign bring unity, peace and prosperity to the people of Tooro.”
The post Coronation for new king of Tooro in Uganda appeared first on New African Magazine .
Coronation for new king of Tooro in Uganda
Aggregated summary from an independent source. Read the original at NewAfricanMagazine.