By Aggrey Baba
The late Omukama Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru IV spent months undergoing medical examinations without doctors initially detecting the cancer that eventually claimed his life, the Queen Mother, Best Kemigisa, has revealed.
The revelation came on Saturday during a church service held ahead of the burial of the Tooro King, with Kemigisa’s speech read by Mr Baguma Komwiswa, the Head of Protocol in Tooro Kingdom.
According to the Queen Mother, Oyo’s medical ordeal began with investigations in Uganda, where repeated examinations and even a biopsy failed to establish what was wrong with the young monarch.
It’s been revealed that the King underwent treatment after his condition became a concern, but the medical examinations did not immediately reveal the disease.
“A biopsy was subsequently taken in Kampala, and still nothing was found,” she said.
It was only after the King travelled to Nairobi, Kenya, in November 2025 that doctors finally discovered the king had cancer.
A scan revealed that Oyo had developed angiosarcoma, a rare and highly aggressive form of cancer that spreads rapidly, triggering a desperate international medical effort, with Oyo subsequently taken to Germany for specialized investigations and treatment before later being transferred to the United States.
But even as he underwent treatment abroad, his illness remained largely hidden from the public. The Queen Mother revealed that her son himself directed the Prime Minister Armstrong Rwomiire to keep his medical condition private.
“The King wished to maintain his medical condition private, and had personally directed Omukirwa to inform the kingdom that he was on a working visit to the US and also studying,” her speech read.
The revelation means that while Tooro was being told that its King was away on official and academic engagements, he was in fact battling an aggressive cancer in foreign hospitals.
In Germany, Oyo was treated at facilities in Heidelberg, where chemotherapy reportedly commenced in November 2025 and continued until February 2026.
But the cancer remained aggressive despite treatment, forcing doctors to make another major decision, of transferring him to the United States.
Oyo was admitted to medical facilities in Dallas, Texas, where, according to the Queen Mother, his condition at one point improved considerably.
Kemigisa said the King remained strong, hopeful and mentally alert, continuing to communicate with people at home and issuing instructions to the Muhikirwa concerning the management of kingdom affairs.
Kemigisa also disclosed that President Museveni personally intervened after being briefed about Oyo’s cancer, facilitating his treatment abroad.
While Oyo was in Nairobi, she said, she travelled back to Uganda and briefed Museveni about the King’s condition.
“The President facilitated the King to go to Germany for further examinations and treatment,” she said.
She later thanked Museveni for making funds available for Oyo’s treatment in the U.S. (For comments on this story, get back to us on 0705579994 [WhatsApp line], 0779411734 & 041 4674611 or email us at mulengeranews@gmail.com).
