Omukama Chaos Isn’t Over | Things Go to Court

The controversy surrounding the Tooro Kingdom succession has taken another dramatic turn following the burial of King Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV. At the centre of the latest developments is a reported legal opinion by Attorney General Sam Mayanja, dated September 12, 2026. According to reports, the Attorney General advised President Yoweri Museveni that King Oyo’s will should be considered in determining his successor and that any dispute over the will should ultimately be resolved through the courts. The reported opinion has renewed attention on Oyo’s 2022 will, which allegedly provided that if the late king died leaving a legally recognised biological son, that son would become his heir to the Tooro throne. It reportedly also provided an alternative succession arrangement involving Prince Komwiswa Yoweri if such a son could not succeed. The issue is complicated by the fact that the Babiito Royal Clan had already selected Prince Edward Rukidi Kijanangoma as Oyo’s successor. Kijanangoma was subsequently declared king and, during Oyo’s burial at the Karambi Royal Tombs, performed the traditional ritual of casting nine coffee berries into the grave. This is particularly significant because the Attorney General reportedly advised that the nine-coffee-bean ritual should be suspended until the succession dispute was resolved. The fact that the ritual went ahead has therefore raised fresh questions about the relationship between the government's legal advice and the traditional succession process. Another major development is a purported Memorandum of Understanding that has surfaced around the burial dispute. The leaked MOU reportedly involves the Government of Uganda, Queen Mother Best Kemigisa, the Musuuga of Tooro and representatives of the Babiito royal clan. According to reports, the agreement was intended to allow King Oyo to be buried peacefully while leaving the succession question to be dealt with separately. One of the reported provisions was that no new Omukama would be declared or installed during the burial proceedings. If authentic, the document could raise serious questions about whether the understanding reached between the different parties was honoured. However, the MOU circulating publicly has not been independently authenticated. It should therefore be treated as a purported leaked document rather than conclusive evidence. The succession dispute now involves several competing elements: the Babiito clan's traditional authority to choose a king, the late king's reported will, questions surrounding the alleged biological heir, the Attorney General's legal opinion and the purported agreement concerning the burial. The government is consequently facing a delicate balancing act between respecting Tooro's traditional institutions and dealing with a dispute that could ultimately require judicial intervention. For now, Prince Kijanangoma has been installed, while questions surrounding Oyo's reported wishes remain unresolved. The burial may have brought an end to the mourning period, but it appears to have opened an even bigger chapter in the Tooro succession saga. The key question now is whether the dispute will be settled within the kingdom's traditional structures or whether the competing claims will eventually find their way into court.