King Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV died on August 27 while undergoing cancer treatment in the United States, and the Tooro Kingdom in Fort Portal, Uganda has since been engulfed in a succession dispute over who should inherit the throne.
The dispute matters because it pits the kingdom’s traditional succession customs and a revealed will against a committee-appointed candidate, raising questions about legitimacy, customary procedure and the role of state security during mourning. Ultimo aggiornamento: 13 September 2026.
Who is claiming the throne and why the will matters
The royal clan’s succession committee announced the selection of Prince Edward Rukidi Kijanangoma a 56-year-old news anchor and editor at the state broadcaster UBC, as the new crown prince. The choice was contested immediately by the late king’s sister, Princess Ruth Nsemere Komuntale who cited a provision in King Oyo’s will naming the monarch’s son as the rightful heir if a lawfully recognized biological son survived him. The will’s clause has introduced a competing line of succession and intensified claims over who should be recognised under Tooro custom.
Royal family objections, house arrest claims and public appeals
Queen Mother Best Kemigisa Akiiki publicly criticised the committee’s decision, accusing a “self-appointed group of clan members” of ignoring the will and selecting a new king without proper consideration. She also alleged that the royal family was effectively placed under house arrest, reporting that troops were deployed around the palace and royal guards had been withdrawn, restricting movement and visitors. Queen Mother Best Kemigisa Akiiki appealed to army leadership and the president, asking for space to mourn, and she stated, “Let us grieve and bury my son King Oyo.” These claims have elevated the dispute from an intra-clan disagreement to a matter involving national security forces and the presidency of Yoweri Museveni.
Customary rules, evidence questions and procedures cited by the prime minister
Calvin Armstrong Rwomiire Akiiki the kingdom’s prime minister, reiterated that Tooro succession follows established customary introduction rites including formal presentation of a royal child to elders to validate a claim. He said a royal child must be officially introduced to the elders to be considered for leadership, a safeguard intended to ensure broad clan recognition. Critics have highlighted gaps in the apparent evidence for the claimed son: no public photograph or family details have been produced, and commentators have pointed out that Tooro tradition normally requires a king’s son to be born to a queen officially married to the king.
Events at the burial, succession ceremony and public reaction
The late king was buried on a Saturday at the Karambi royal tombs in Fort Portal. The burial procession included royal guards in orange shawls and the casket draped in the blue-and-yellow Tooro flag. Traditional rites at the tomb reportedly included the casting of nine coffee berries into the grave by the appointed successor, Edward Rukidi Kijanangoma, an act observers interpreted as part of succession ritual even as the immediate family maintained that the will named an heir of a different line.
The Tooro Kingdom, one of the restored traditional kingdoms in Uganda, was reinstated by President Yoweri Museveni after their abolition in 1967 and restoration in 1993. King Oyo had acceded to the throne in 1995 at age three and remained a prominent cultural figure and UN goodwill ambassador until his death at 34. The burial drew thousands of mourners and highlighted the kingdom’s cultural role despite its lack of formal political power.
Wider implications and appeals for calm
Observers and some royal elders called for restraint as the competing claims proceed, and the prime minister urged a calm examination of the will and the positions presented. Andrew Mwenda, a journalist and relative of the royal family, raised questions about the legitimacy of the purported son, noting gaps in public evidence and invoking customary marriage requirements for royal succession. The dispute has prompted appeals to state institutions and cultural leaders to mediate, as the kingdom balances adherence to traditional succession protocol with legal and public scrutiny.
The contested succession now involves named individuals—Prince Edward Rukidi Kijanangoma, Princess Ruth Nsemere Komuntale, Queen Mother Best Kemigisa Akiiki, Calvin Armstrong Rwomiire Akiiki and commentators such as Andrew Mwenda—as well as the broader public in Fort Portal and national figures such as President Yoweri Museveni. The Tooro Kingdom’s next steps remain under negotiation as parties weigh the will’s terms, customary procedure and the absence of independently produced documentation regarding the claimed son.
