The Tooro Kingdom in Uganda is facing a succession dispute following the death of King Oyo Nyimba. The royal clan succession committee named Prince Edward Rukidi Kijanangoma, a television news anchor and editor at UBC as the king. This decision came on Wednesday, September 9 days before the burial of King Oyo.
The announcement has been met with strong opposition from Queen Mother Best Kemigisa, the mother of King Oyo. She says the choice was made without respecting her son’s wishes. According to her King Oyo had written a will that clearly laid out who should succeed him. She claims that this will was read on the day he died in front of members of the family and government officials. Everyone present reportedly agreed to meet the day to discuss the matter.
Instead she says, some members of the clan held a press conference the same evening and announced the new king while King Oyo’s body was still at the palace. This move she argues, was. Ignored the proper process.
Kemigisa also reported that security forces have been stationed around the palace. She said family members are being restricted from leaving the premises or receiving visitors. She has asked the government and military to allow the royal family to grieve and bury King Oyo peacefully.
King Oyo passed away in the United States on August 27 at the age of 34 after battling cancer. He became king when he was three years old in 1995 and was recognized by Guinness World Records as the youngest reigning monarch in the world at the time of his coronation.
The Tooro Kingdom is one of Uganda’s kingdoms. These kingdoms do not hold any political power under the country’s constitution. They remain deeply influential in culture and society.
Now as preparations continue for the burial of King Oyo at the tombs near his palace in Fort Portal tensions remain high, over who should lead the kingdom next.
