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By Ben Musanje
A fresh storm has erupted over the succession of the Tooro Kingdom throne after veteran journalist Andrew Mwenda said Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba endorsed George Desmond Kamurasi’s selection as the next Omukama and that President Yoweri Museveni backed the decision, prompting City Lawyer Tony Tumukunde to demand answers over the process.
Mwenda said the Royal Succession Committee of Tooro selected 36-year-old Kamurasi on Friday, September 4, to succeed his late cousin, Omukama Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV, who died on August 26, 2026, in Texas, United States.
The announcement on “X” has thrust the sensitive royal succession process into a new controversy, with Tumukunde questioning the authority, timing and political framing of Mwenda’s declaration.
According to Mwenda, the 21-member Royal Succession Committee was selected by the Royal Clan of Tooro, the Ababiito, on August 28 and is chaired by Omusuuga Charles Akiiki Kamurasi.
The committee has been meeting since August 31. At its September 4 meeting held at Fort Motel in Fort Portal City, 18 of the 21 members were present, with 15 voting in favour of Kamurasi, Mwenda said.
Kamurasi, 36, is the son of George Desmond “Jimmy” Mugenyi, the younger brother of Patrick David Mathew Olimi Kaboyo II. Mwenda said Kamurasi was second in line to succeed his brother Olimi Kaboyo II under the will of their late father, former King George Rukidi III.
Mwenda links succession to Muhoozi, Museveni
In announcing the committee’s decision on his “X” platform, Mwenda said he had held discussions with Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba, the CDF of the Uganda Peoples’ Defense Forces and chairman of the Patriotic League of Uganda, as well as Gen. Kayanja Muhanga.
Mwenda said Gen. Kainerugaba fully endorsed the committee’s choice, arguing that Kamurasi’s selection was consistent with Tooro customs, precedents and laws governing succession.
Mwenda also said Gen. Kainerugaba told him that President Museveni supported the committee’s decision.
According to Mwenda, the President had dispatched a team led by a senior Cabinet minister to Fort Portal to consult key stakeholders.
He said that following extensive consultations, the team was convinced that there was broad consensus around Kamurasi’s succession.
The claims have added a significant political dimension to what would ordinarily be a highly sensitive customary process.
Tumukunde questions authority behind announcement
City Lawyer Tonny Tumukunde who is also a member of the national Resistance Movement (NRM) has now used the same platform to challenge the manner in which the development was presented to the public.
Tumukunde said the announcement raises serious questions that cannot simply be dismissed as “social media speculation.”
He questioned who had the authority to publicly announce the succession decision before the recognized customary structures of the Babiito had formally communicated it.
According to Tumukunde, the Babiito are the custodians of Tooro’s royal succession and outsiders should therefore exercise caution before presenting a committee’s deliberations as a settled and official position of the Kingdom.
The lawyer said the Omusuuga and recognized Babiito structures should be allowed to formally communicate the decision in accordance with Tooro custom.
Dispute over timing
The timing of Mwenda’s announcement is another issue at the centre of the dispute.
Mwenda acknowledged that the formal public announcement has not yet been made.
He said he had spoken to the Omusuuga, who informed him that, according to custom, the public announcement should be made after the burial of the late Omukama Oyo.
Mwenda nevertheless said he decided to announce the committee’s decision because he wanted to prevent social-media speculation from causing unnecessary confusion.
Tumukunde, however, questioned why a successor would be publicly announced before the burial if the established customary procedure requires the formal announcement to come afterwards.
For the lawyer, the timing raises questions about whether the customary process is being allowed to run its course.
Questions over possible royal claimant
Tumukunde has also called for any credible claim concerning the parentage of a purported child of the late Omukama Oyo to be properly considered before the succession is concluded.
He argued that if there is a person claiming to be a child of the late King, the claim should be handled with dignity, patience and due process.
Before a successor is installed, Tumukunde said, any legitimate claim of parentage should be presented, examined and resolved in accordance with Tooro custom and applicable law.
He warned that succession should not be settled through haste.
“The Presidency should not become the source of legitimacy”
Tumukunde’s strongest objection, however, centres on the reported involvement of the President and senior military officials.
He questioned why the position of President Museveni and the CDF should be introduced into what he considers fundamentally a royal and cultural question.
According to Tumukunde, citing presidential support may create the impression that the succession has received political backing before the Babiito have completed their customary process.
He argued that the legitimacy of an Omukama should derive from the Babiito, Tooro custom and the law—not from endorsement by State House or political offices.
Tumukunde stressed that his concerns were not necessarily about opposing Kamurasi personally, but about protecting the integrity of the institution of the Omukama and ensuring that the succession process is beyond dispute.
Tooro awaits formal word from Babiito
The controversy now leaves the Kingdom awaiting the formal communication from the Omusuuga and the recognized Babiito structures.
While the Royal Succession Committee has reportedly voted overwhelmingly in favour of Kamurasi, the formal customary announcement remains pending.
Mwenda has sought to portray the announcement as an effort to bring clarity amid speculation, while Tumukunde sees it as raising fundamental questions about authority, procedure and political influence.
The debate is therefore increasingly shifting beyond the identity of the proposed successor to the broader question of who has the final authority to determine and announce the next Omukama of Tooro.
As the Kingdom prepares for the burial of Omukama Oyo, pressure is now mounting on the Babiito to provide clarity on the succession process and address any competing claims before the next king is formally announced.
For Tumukunde, the stakes go beyond the current succession.
He has warned that Tooro deserves a king chosen through a process that leaves no room for questions about political interference, unresolved claims or procedural shortcuts.
“Let the Babiito speak. Let every credible claim be heard. Let parentage, if contested, be established. Let the customary and legal procedures run their course,” Tumukunde said. (For comments on this story, get back to us on 0705579994 [WhatsApp line], 0779411734 & 041 4674611 or email us at mulengeranews@gmail.com).
