Uganda's Tooro Kingdom Crowns New King Amid Succession Dispute Over Late King Oyo's Will
- Edward Rukidi Kijanangoma Nyabongo I was crowned king of Uganda's Tooro kingdom following the death of King Oyo, who died of cancer aged 34
- The succession sparked controversy after close family members claimed King Oyo left a will naming his young son as heir to the throne
- Queen Best Kemigisa, mother of the late king, publicly opposed the coronation and said her grandson in Texas could not return home amid the dispute
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Edward Rukidi Kijanangoma Nyabongo I has been crowned king of Uganda's Tooro kingdom, following months of controversy over who should rightfully inherit the throne after the death of King Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV.
Kijanangoma, 56, spent much of his career as an anchor and editor at Uganda's state broadcaster, making his coronation a striking shift from storyteller to subject.
Source: UGC
His journey to the throne included walking roughly 4 kilometres to the official Karuziika royal palace, where traditional ceremonies that began at midnight culminated in his crowning.
Tooro is one of Uganda's four officially recognised historical kingdoms. It had been led for 31 years by King Oyo, who became the world's youngest monarch in 1995 at the age of three after his father died. Oyo ruled until his death last month from cancer at just 34.
Succession dispute clouds the coronation
The process of selecting a new king was far from smooth. Under Tooro tradition, a recognised son of the late king would normally be next in line. Close members of the royal family said King Oyo had left both a young son and a written will instructing that the child succeed him.
However, the committee of 21 Babiito clan members responsible for selecting a new king chose Kijanangoma instead. The late king's son was never publicly acknowledged, and the committee said no such child had been formally presented through any official channel.
Queen Best Kemigisa, mother of the late King Oyo, strongly opposed the outcome. She described the announcement of Kijanangoma's selection as the "announcement of a second king" being "made after the will of King Oyo was read to members of the royal family."
"As a mother, that was extraordinarily painful," she said, adding that celebrations for the incoming king took place "only metres from where my son's body lay."
Kemigisa later said Oyo's son, who was in the US state of Texas, had been expected to return to Uganda but could not, given what she described as a "tense and polarised succession dispute." In a post on X, she wrote: "No child should be placed in circumstances where returning to his father's homeland could mean being drawn into hostility and conflict."
Kingdom defends the selection process
Tooro's Information Minister Charles Mwanguhya rejected those concerns when speaking to the BBC Focus on Africa podcast. He said the son "hasn't been presented anywhere, which means there is a growing acceptance that sad as it may be, King Oyo didn't leave a son behind."
Mwanguhya confirmed the crown had "moved to a different line within the ruling clan," though still within the Babiito clan and the lineage of King George David Matthew Kamurasi Rukidi III, as required by royal custom.
Following the coronation itself, the new king was set to take part in a mock fight, symbolising that the path to kingship is not without struggle, before receiving blessings from members of the royal Babiito clan.
Source: Legit.ng
