WHEN OYO MADE A NON-MUTOORO HIS PREMIER! Former Omuhikirwa Reveals How The Young King United Tooro Beyond Tribe-IT’S KALIBA WHO BACKED AMAMA MBABAZI & FOUGHT M7 IN 2016

By Aggrey Baba
As hundreds of mourners, kingdom officials and government dignitaries gathered at Entebbe International Airport to receive the remains of the late Tooro King Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru, former Tooro Kingdom Premier Steven Kaliba Ateenyi emerged with a personal tribute, describing the fallen king as a unifying King who deliberately broke tribal barriers and treated everyone living in Tooro as his subject.

It was during a televised interview as the country awaited the arrival of Oyo’s body on Friday morning, when Kaliba said the late King played a “very, very, very crucial” role in bringing together the different communities that make up Tooro, refusing to discriminate between a Mutooro, Mukonzo, Mukiga or anybody else living within the kingdom.

“The King could not segregate that this is a Mukonzo, this is a Mukiga, this is a Mutoro. As long as you are staying in Tooro Kingdom, you are a subject of Kabasajja,” Kaliba said.

The remarks carried particular weight coming from Kaliba, a veteran politician, academic and former head of the Tooro Kingdom government who served as Oyo’s Omuhikirwa from 2013 to 2015.

Kaliba had entered the kingdom’s leadership after an established career in national politics, representing Fort Portal Municipality in Uganda’s Eighth Parliament after winning the seat in 2006, before losing it to Alex Ruhunda in the 2011 elections.

Before entering Parliament, Kaliba spent 17 years at Makerere University, where he rose to become a Head of Department and member of the university Senate. He also served as a visiting associate at the University of Cardiff and later worked with Kampala International University (KIU). He holds a PhD in education and was involved in higher education and professional studies.

It was this combination of political and academic experience that King Oyo drew upon when he appointed Kaliba Prime Minister of Tooro in 2013.

Oyo’s choice of Kaliba itself came at a difficult moment for the kingdom. Kaliba replaced Amos Mugisa, who had resigned amid disagreements over interference in kingdom affairs. His appointment was subsequently approved by the kingdom parliament, the Orukurato.

Kaliba served for two years before leaving the position in 2015 to return to elective politics. He announced that he intended to seek the NRM ticket and contest again for the Fort Portal Municipality parliamentary seat. Contemporary reports noted that his two-year contract had expired and that he had chosen not to renew it.

His political journey did not end with his departure from the kingdom. In the run-up to the 2016 elections, Kaliba became associated with former Prime Minister Amama Mbabazi’s Go Forward campaign before later moving away from that camp. He was subsequently nominated as an independent candidate for Fort Portal Municipality.

But despite his return to partisan politics, Kaliba’s relationship with Oyo remained an important chapter of his public life.

And on Friday, as Oyo’s body finally returned home after the King died in the United States at the age of 34, Kaliba chose to remember him less as a political figure and more as a king who brought people together.

He recalled that Oyo rejected attempts to define belonging in Tooro purely through ethnicity.

“There was a problem of this talk of Omutoro nya Kabara. But King Oyo said, ‘No. All these people are my subjects. Let us not discriminate,’” Kaliba said.

For him, Oyo’s inclusive leadership was demonstrated not only through words but also through his appointments.

Kaliba cited the appointment of his successor, Bernard Tungakwo Atenyi who served as the Prime Minister of the Tooro Kingdom from May 2015 until his resignation in August 2022, as one of the clearest examples.

Tungwako, he noted, was not a Mutooro but a Mutagwenda.

“That is a symbol that King Oyo really was powerful, was welcoming all the tribes, was recognizing all the tribes as his subjects,” Kaliba said.

He said the same spirit could be seen in Tooro’s public institutions, including schools and hospitals, which brought together people from different communities.

“I have gone to schools in Fort Portal and you could see just how unified even the institutions are,” he recalled.

Kaliba said Oyo therefore leaves Tooro with a legacy of deliberately attempting to bridge divisions between the Bakonzo, Bakiga, Batooro and other communities.

“I speak that from experience,” he emphasised.

But the former premier also spoke of the profound shock caused by Oyo’s death.

Having known the King closely during his years in the kingdom administration, Kaliba said he never imagined that the monarch would die so young.