NO ONE HAS THE POWER TO FIRE HIM! Ex-Omuhikirwa [Who Fought M7 in 2016] Dares Tooro Clan Leaders Over Rwomiire Sacking, Says Only King Oyo Could Fire Him

Former Tooro Kingdom Premier Steven Kaliba Ateenyi has questioned the reported removal of Omuhikirwa Calvin Armstrong Rwomiire Akiiki by a disgruntled faction of the royal clan leaders, arguing that the circumstances surrounding the death of King Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV make the decision to dismiss the Prime Minister particularly contentious.

Kaliba’s remarks come at a delicate moment for Tooro, as the kingdom receives the remains of King Oyo, whose death has plunged the institution into mourning while simultaneously exposing disagreements over its leadership and succession.

Speaking during a televised interview on Friday morning, Kaliba appeared to challenge the authority of those behind the reported decision to remove Rwomiire, pointing to the fact that the Omuhikirwa was appointed by King Oyo, who died on August 27 at the age of 34.

“Omuhikirwa was appointed by the King, and the King has passed. So there is no government now. So how can you fire someone who is not in office?” Kaliba questioned.

His comments followed reports that Tooro clan leaders had resolved to suspend Rwomiire, accusing him of disrespecting traditional leaders and failing to follow their instructions, with the reported decision taken at Kikaali in Karuziika.

The development has added a new layer of uncertainty to Tooro’s mourning period, coming just as the kingdom prepares to receive King Oyo’s body and proceed with burial arrangements.

Rwomiire himself has been at the centre of the kingdom’s official communication since the King’s death. It was the Omuhikirwa who announced Oyo’s death on August 27, describing it as an immeasurable loss to the royal family, Tooro and Uganda.

He had been appointed Prime Minister by King Oyo in February 2025, replacing Steven Kiyingi, who had served in the position since August 2022.

Kaliba, who served as Tooro premier before Rwomiire, said the question of who has the legitimate authority to make major administrative decisions during the transition cannot simply be brushed aside.

His intervention is significant because he is a former head of the kingdom’s executive administration and was himself involved in some of the most consequential negotiations between Tooro and the central government during King Oyo’s reign.

Kaliba also used the interview to remember Oyo as a cultural leader who understood administration and the importance of communication.

“When it came to business and management, he was very good. And he believed a lot in communication,” Kaliba said.

He recalled Oyo’s philosophy that communication was central to effective administration.

“He would say that communication is the lifeblood of administration. You should communicate, communicate, communicate effectively,” he said.

But it is his comments on Rwomiire that could prove more consequential for the kingdom’s immediate future.

The reported move against Rwomiire comes when Tooro is already dealing with questions over succession following Oyo’s death. Rwomiire announced that the late King had left behind an heir whose identity would be revealed according to Tooro customs.

President Yoweri Museveni subsequently said Queen Mother Best Kemigisa had informed him that Oyo left a son. However, Charles Kamurasi, head of the Babiito royal clan, has publicly questioned the claim and called for traditional processes to determine the rightful successor.

The competing claims have created an unusually tense atmosphere around the monarchy at precisely the time when Tooro is expected to present an image of unity as it lays its young King to rest.

Rwomiire, meanwhile, has publicly called for restraint and unity, urging Batooro to put aside disagreements until after the burial. He has also offered to meet the head of the Babiito clan to resolve the differences emerging within the kingdom.

Kaliba’s intervention therefore puts the reported dismissal of the Omuhikirwa into a broader question about the administration of Tooro during the period between one King and the next.

The former premier’s argument is essentially that the kingdom cannot treat the transition as an ordinary administrative reshuffle, particularly when the person who appointed the current Omuhikirwa is no longer alive.

As Tooro and the entire country receive Oyo’s remains today, the question of Rwomiire’s fate is likely to remain intertwined with the larger debate over who should steer the kingdom’s affairs until a new monarch is installed.

And for a kingdom mourning a King who ascended the throne at just three years old and ruled for nearly 31 years, the emerging leadership dispute risks shifting attention from the solemn final journey of Oyo to a potentially consequential battle over who controls the institution he leaves behind.

King Oyo’s body arrives at Entebbe International Airport today, from where it will be taken towards Tooro, where thousands of mourners are expected to participate in the final ceremonies for the monarch.

But as the late King makes his final journey home, another question is increasingly occupying Tooro’s political and cultural establishment: Who has the authority to run the kingdom after Oyo, and who has the power to fire the Prime Minister he appointed?