By Aggrey Baba
President Yoweri Museveni has revealed a deeply personal message left behind by the late Omukama Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV, saying he only discovered the letter a day after the former Tooro king had been buried.
Museveni made the revelation on Tuesday, September 29, while speaking at the coronation of Edward Rukidi Nyabongo I at Karuziika Royal Palace in Fort Portal, where Tooro formally installed a new king following Oyo’s death on August 27th.
According to the President, he was going through his documents after Oyo’s burial when he came across a letter dated June 15, 2026, written to him by the late king.
“I want to salute the memory of King Oyo for the wonderful work he did. I was very sad because, a day after he was buried here, I was going through my documents, and I found a letter which he had written to me on June 15, 2026,” Museveni said.
Museveni said Oyo’s letter was primarily one of appreciation.
“He was thanking me for a number of things, including appointing ministers from Tooro,” he said.
The discovery appeared to move the President, who said the letter had reinforced his sense that Oyo was still actively engaging with national affairs only weeks before his death.
“So this means that by June, he was still writing letters, as if he was all right,” Museveni said.
The revelation provided one of the most personal moments of Museveni’s address as he paid tribute to the late king while welcoming his successor. He used the same occasion to salute Oyo’s memory and praise the work he carried out during his reign.
The late king died in August at the age of 34 after receiving treatment in the United States. He had ascended the Tooro throne in 1995 at the age of three and remained one of Uganda’s most recognisable traditional leaders.
Earlier this month, Museveni had also recalled his government’s efforts to secure specialized treatment for Oyo after the Queen Mother, Best Kemigisa, informed him of the king’s illness in November 2025. The President said treatment was pursued first in Germany and later in the United States, but doctors were ultimately unable to save him.
At Tuesday’s coronation, Museveni again praised Oyo’s leadership and urged his successor to build on the kingdom’s cultural heritage.
Museveni congratulated Edward Rukidi Nyabongo I and revealed that he had followed his career in the media.
Nyabongo, 56, is a former television journalist and news anchor who worked with Uganda Broadcasting Corporation (UBC) before being selected by the Babiito royal clan to succeed Oyo, taking the royal name Edward Rukidi Nyabongo I.
The new king’s coronation followed a night of traditional rituals, including a symbolic procession to Karuziika Palace and a mock battle before his formal enthronement.
The coronation marks a new chapter for Tooro after weeks of uncertainty surrounding the succession following Oyo’s death.
A 21-member committee of the Babiito royal clan selected the former news anchor as successor, a decision later endorsed by the Tooro Supreme Council, hence his enthronement on Tuesday. (For comments on this story, get back to us on 0705579994 [WhatsApp line], 0779411734 & 041 4674611 or email us at mulengeranews@gmail.com).
