KAMPALA, Sept 10 — Uganda’s traditional Tooro Kingdom has become embroiled in a succession dispute following the death of King Oyo Nyimba, after his family challenged the royal clan’s decision to appoint a television news anchor as his successor.
Although Uganda is a constitutional republic, the country retains several historic kingdoms whose monarchs hold significant cultural and social influence.
Oyo became the world’s youngest reigning monarch in 1995 when he inherited the Tooro throne at the age of three. He died on August 27 at 34 in the United States, where he had been receiving cancer treatment. His burial is scheduled for Saturday.
News of the succession dispute emerged after the kingdom’s royal clan succession committee announced on Wednesday that Prince Edward Rukidi Kijanangoma had been selected as the next king. Kijanangoma, a cousin of Oyo, works as a news anchor and editor at Uganda’s state-run broadcaster, UBC.
The appointment was immediately challenged by Oyo’s sister, Princess Ruth Komuntale. Speaking at a press conference hours after the announcement, she said the late king’s will directed that his son should inherit the throne.
The kingdom’s spokesperson subsequently released the relevant section of the will, dated September 14, 2022. It states: “I hereby declare and direct that if, at the date of my death, I am survived by a Son lawfully recognized as my biological Son, I appoint him as my heir to the Throne of the Kingdom of Tooro.”
Oyo’s mother, Queen Kemigisa, intensified the challenge in a statement issued early Thursday, accusing what she described as a “self-appointed group of clan members” of choosing a successor despite having heard the contents of the will earlier.
She also alleged that Uganda’s military had removed royal guards from the palace without prior notice and placed members of the royal family under house arrest.
There was no immediate response from a military spokesperson, while members of the succession committee could not immediately be reached for comment.
Identity of Oyo’s Son Remains Undisclosed
The dispute has been complicated by uncertainty surrounding the identity of the son who, according to the royal family, is the late king’s heir.
Oyo never married and was not publicly known to have children. The existence of a son was disclosed by Tooro’s Prime Minister Calvin Armstrong Rwomiire Akiiki in a social media post on August 27 announcing the king’s death. He said Oyo had left behind “a Prince as his heir, whose identity will be formally revealed at the appropriate time”.
Andrew Mwenda, a prominent Ugandan journalist and relative of the royal family, said on X on Thursday that Oyo’s family had not produced a photograph of the alleged son and had not provided details about the boy’s mother’s family.
Mwenda also said that, under Tooro customs, a king’s son could inherit the throne only if he had been born to a queen formally married to the monarch.
Oyo served as a United Nations goodwill ambassador and was known for his advocacy against HIV and AIDS.
As competing claims emerged over the succession, Prime Minister Armstrong urged all sides to avoid confrontation and allow the matter to be resolved through established procedures.
“There will be time to examine the Will, to hear those advancing a different position, and to consider our customs, the applicable law and the proper institutions through which succession should be determined,” he wrote on X.
“That process should take place calmly and credibly, not through competing announcements, confrontation, or attempts to establish facts on the ground while our King still awaits burial.”
