The Attorney General has advised President Yoweri Museveni that the traditional ceremony confirming the successor of the late Tooro King Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV be suspended until the succession dispute is resolved.
The advice, contained in a September 12, 2026 legal opinion to President Museveni, follows the death of King Oyo and the dispute over who should succeed him on the Tooro throne.
The Attorney General, Dr Sam Mayanja, says Section 15 of the Institution of Traditional or Cultural Leaders Act provides that disputes within a traditional or cultural institution should first be resolved in accordance with the traditions, customs and norms of dispute resolution applicable to that community.
The law further provides that where the community fails to resolve the dispute, the matter should be referred to court.
According to the legal opinion, there is a dispute over the contents and validity of King Oyo’s will which has not been resolved by the council of elders to the satisfaction of the community and all interested parties.
Dr Mayanja says the dispute can only be resolved by a court of law, while recommending that the late King’s will be followed. He notes that the validity of the will can only be challenged in court.
Addressing mourners at St. John’s Cathedral as Tooro bids farewell to King Oyo, the Omusuuga of Tooro Kingdom, Charles Kamurasi, has announced that the kingdom has a new King following the death of Omukama Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV.
Kamurasi said the kingdom’s supreme council of the Babiito clan had agreed on Prince David Edward Rukidi Kiijanangoma as the successor to the throne.
“I want to inform you, the people of Tooro and Uganda at large, that we have a King. We sat down and agreed on one thing: the King is Prince Edward Rukidi Kiijanangoma. Whatever we have done, we have done within the laws of Uganda and the culture of Tooro,” Kamurasi said.
Prince Kiijanangoma is the son of the late Prince Cox Rwamwanja and a member of the Royal Babiito Clan. He is regarded as one of the senior princes eligible to ascend the throne under Tooro customs.
According to Tooro tradition, the declaration by the Omusuuga is an initial step in the succession process. The prince will subsequently be presented to clan elders and Queen Mother Best Kemigisa and will undergo the required traditional rituals before his eventual enthronement.
Oyo’s will
The Attorney General cited King Oyo’s will dated September 14, 2022, in which the late monarch provided for his succession.
In the will, King Oyo directed that if he was survived by a biological son recognised as his son, he would appoint him as his heir to the Tooro Kingdom, subject to the Institution of Traditional or Cultural Leaders Act and the customs and traditions of the Batooro.
The will further provided that if his son died before assuming the role, was permanently incapacitated or was otherwise unable to succeed him, his cousin, Prince Komwesiga Charles, son of Omusinga Charles, would be his heir and successor to the throne.
The Attorney General also addressed a traditional Tooro burial ritual in which nine coffee beans are thrown into the grave of a deceased king by his successor as confirmation of succession to the throne.
Dr Mayanja recommended that the ritual be suspended because of the ongoing succession dispute.
He said the suspension of the ceremony would not be without precedent, citing the burial of the late Kaboyo, where the ritual was conducted three months after his death and burial, after his successor had been identified.
