By Ben Musanje
Tooro Kingdom’s succession crisis has deepened dramatically just days before the burial of the late King Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV, with Queen Mother Best Kemigisa accusing security forces of restricting the royal family’s movement and clan leaders of attempting to install a new king while her son’s body lay in state.
In a strongly worded statement issued on September 10,2026, Kemigisa said she was writing “with a heavy heart” as the royal family mourned Oyo, who died after a battle with cancer.
The Queen Mother said the current dispute brought back painful memories of the struggle to secure Oyo’s accession to the throne following the death of his father, Omukama Patrick Matthew Kaboyo Olimi III.
She recalled that she was 26 when her husband died and that she was in the United Kingdom receiving treatment for their young daughter, Cecilia, while Oyo was only two years old.
According to Kemigisa, when she returned to Tooro to bury her husband, she instead found herself fighting for her young son’s right to become king.
She said members of the Babiito clan argued that Oyo, then three years old, was too young to reign and that his father had left no will naming him as successor. She said the clan instead sought to have his uncle take the throne based on the will of the late Omukama Rukiidi.
The dispute, she said, eventually went to court, where Oyo’s claim prevailed.
Years later, Kemigisa said, the family suffered another devastating loss when her daughter Cecilia died of leukemia.
She accused some of the same clan leaders now involved in the succession debate of having failed to support the family during that period.
Despite those challenges, she said Oyo went on to serve Tooro for 31 years, building relationships across Uganda and internationally and receiving support from President Yoweri Museveni.
“By the grace of God, my son went on to serve Tooro for 31 years,” she said, describing him as a king who loved his people and served the kingdom faithfully.
Succession battle erupts before burial
Kemigisa said she lost her only son on August 27, following his treatment for cancer in the United States.
She thanked President Museveni for helping bring Oyo’s body back to Tooro with what she described as the dignity befitting a king.
She also expressed appreciation to the UPDF engineering brigade for work on the royal grave and roads leading to the royal tombs, and to the Chief of Defence Forces for his support.
But she said the succession dispute erupted before the royal family had even arrived in Fort Portal.
According to Kemigisa, the family had reached Kyenjojo when veteran journalist Andrew Mwenda announced that a group of clan members had selected another king.
She described the group as “self-appointed” and said none of its members had contacted her to offer condolences, inquire about Oyo’s will or discuss plans the late king had left behind.
The move has since triggered a bitter dispute over who has the authority to determine Oyo’s successor.
Royal clan elders have announced Prince Edward Rukidi Kijanangoma, a 56-year-old television news presenter, as the next monarch. Oyo’s close family, however, has rejected the decision.
His sister, Princess Ruth Komuntale, has maintained that Oyo left a will written in 2022 naming his young son as his successor.
The identity of the purported son has not been publicly established, becoming one of the central points of contention in the succession battle.
Queen Mother alleges “house arrest”
Kemigisa’s latest statement also raises a serious security dimension to the dispute.
She said that three days before Oyo’s burial, Gen. Kayanja Muhanga came to the palace and removed the royal guards without notice before troops were deployed around the royal residence.
She further claimed that the Musuuga, the caretaker of the kingdom during the succession process, was taken away to an undisclosed location.
The Queen Mother described the security deployment as effectively placing the royal family under “house arrest.”
“Now, with the security deployment around the Palace, we cannot leave or receive people freely. We are under house arrest,” she said.
The allegations add a new layer of tension to an already highly sensitive succession dispute, coming as the kingdom prepares to bury a monarch who reigned for more than three decades.
Disputed will
Kemigisa said Oyo’s will was eventually read at 4pm before representatives of the Royal Family and Government.
Those present, according to her, included the Musuuga, Princess Ruth Komuntale, Princess Margaret Komubaizi, Father Oyo, Monsignor Father Mayombo and Maj Gen Henry Tumukunde, who represented the President in his capacity as Minister of Gender, Labour and Social Development.
She said the will clearly set out the order of succession to the Tooro throne.
The parties, she added, agreed to meet again the following day under the chairmanship of Gen Tumukunde.
But Kemigisa said the agreement did not prevent a rival declaration that evening.
She accused the group of clan members of holding a press conference and announcing their preferred king while Oyo’s body was still lying in the palace.
“They could have done this anywhere else,” she said. “Instead, they chose to jubilate while my son was still lying in his casket next to them.”
She said the timing of the declaration had caused particular pain to the family, adding that her daughter was “devastated” and that the family remained in deep mourning.
Appeal to Museveni and UPDF
With tensions rising, the Queen Mother appealed directly to Gen. Kayanja Muhanga, the UPDF leadership and President Museveni to intervene and allow the family to mourn without restrictions.
She also appealed to those involved in the succession struggle to put aside the dispute until after Oyo’s burial.
“To those fighting over the throne: please, there will be time for all of that. Let us grieve and bury my son King Oyo,” she said.
Kemigisa ended her statement by portraying Oyo not simply as a monarch but as a son who had devoted his life to his kingdom and faith.
“He was a good son. He was a good King. He loved Tooro and served his people for 31 years. Most importantly, he served God,” she said.
“He has gone to be with the Lord. Please allow us to send him home with the dignity and respect he deserves.”
The competing claims over Oyo’s will, the purported son and the authority of the Babiito to select a successor now threaten to overshadow the late king’s final rites, with the kingdom facing an increasingly public and bitter contest over who should inherit the Tooro throne.
