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A bitter succession dispute has erupted in Uganda’s traditional Tooro Kingdom after popular television news anchor Prince Edward Rukidi Kizananangoma was named the next king, just days before the funeral of the late King Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV.
Senior members of the royal clan selected 56-year-old Kizananangoma as the next king. However, the late king’s family has rejected the decision, insisting that Oyo had left behind a written will naming his young, previously undisclosed son as his successor.
King Oyo died last month at the age of 34 while receiving cancer treatment in the United States. He had ruled the Tooro Kingdom for more than three decades and was known as the world’s youngest reigning monarch until his death.
Oyo’s sister, Princess Ruth Komuntale, said her brother had made a will in 2022 in which he named his son as his successor.
“My brother left an heir to the throne, and this is clearly stated,” Komuntale said. She accused those involved in naming a new king during the family’s mourning period of creating “confusion and instability”.
The late king’s mother, Queen Best Kemigisa, also alleged that royal guards had been removed from the palace and replaced by soldiers, restricting the movement of family members and their ability to meet visitors. She described the situation as a form of “house arrest”.
On Saturday, she appealed to the military leadership and President Yoweri Museveni to allow the family to hold Oyo’s funeral peacefully.
Oyo will be buried at the royal mausoleum in Fort Portal in western Uganda, with thousands of people expected to attend the funeral. His body was brought back to Uganda from the United States last Friday.
Tooro is one of Uganda’s traditional kingdoms. Although its king has no formal political power, the monarch remains an important cultural figure in western Uganda.
President Museveni was the first to publicly disclose after Oyo’s death that the late king had a son. However, the child’s identity and other details have not been made public, and he had never previously been formally presented as heir to the throne.
Under Tooro tradition, the throne does not automatically pass through a fixed line of succession, as in the British monarchy. Instead, senior members of the royal Babito clan select a suitable prince to become king, or “Omukama” in the local language.
At a press conference in Fort Portal, the succession committee announced Oyo’s cousin Kizananangoma, a news anchor with the state broadcaster Uganda Broadcasting Corporation (UBC), as the new king. All 19 members of the committee signed the decision.
Oyo’s family, however, maintains that the late king’s written wishes should take precedence. The succession committee argues that simply having a royal son is not sufficient. Under Tooro customs, a royal child must be formally presented to senior members of the royal clan and undergo prescribed traditional ceremonies before being considered for future leadership.
The date of Kizananangoma’s coronation has not yet been announced. The succession committee said it would be held in accordance with Tooro traditions and customs.