King Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV was buried on September 12 at the Karambi Royal Tombs in Fort Portal under the shadow of a succession fight. The 34-year-old Tooro monarch, once the world’s youngest reigning king, died of cancer last month and left two rival claims to the crown.
The Babiito royal clan chose Prince Edward Rukidi Kijanangoma, a 56-year-old UBC news anchor and cousin of the late king. At the burial he cast nine coffee berries into the grave, the traditional handover of power. Clan elders say custom, not a private will, decides who becomes king.
Oyo’s mother, Queen Mother Best Kemigisa, and his sister, Princess Ruth Komuntale, reject that choice. They say a 2022 will named a “lawfully recognised biological son” as heir. Oyo never married and was not publicly known to have children. After his death, Tooro’s prime minister said the king had left a son whose identity would be revealed later. The boy has not been named. Clan leaders say the child was never introduced through custom and therefore cannot take the throne.
The Ugandan government tried to keep the burial free of succession politics. It did not last. The attorney general has since said the will should be tested in court if necessary, and that Kijanangoma will not be gazetted as king until the dispute is settled.
Princess Komuntale put the family’s case simply: her brother was peaceful and humble, and she would not let others “steal what he worked so hard for.” For now, Tooro has a grave, a ritual already performed, and no undisputed king.
