The succession battle to replace the late King Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV has taken a decisive turn, with Prince George Kamurasi Desmond, 36, emerging as the preferred candidate of the Babiito Royal Succession Committee.
Kamurasi reportedly secured 15 of the 18 votes cast during a closed-door meeting of senior members of the Babiito clan held on Friday, September 4, 2026, at Fort Motel in Fort Portal City.
The vote gives Kamurasi a commanding majority among the members who participated in the formal process to identify a successor to the late monarch, who died on August 26, 2026, in Texas, United States.
However, the selection is not yet the formal public installation or announcement of a new King.
According to Tooro customs and the succession process being followed by the Babiito, the formal announcement is expected to be made by Omusuuga Charles Akiiki Kamurasi, chairman of the Royal Succession Committee, after the burial of King Oyo.
The development has nevertheless already triggered intense interest within Tooro, particularly because of the prominent political and military figures who have reportedly been briefed on the outcome.
15 of 18 votes
The Royal Succession Committee comprises 21 members selected by the Babiito clan on August 28 following the death of King Oyo.
Of the 21 members, 18 attended Friday’s final physical meeting, with 15 voting in favour of George Kamurasi.
Omusuuga Charles Kamurasi participated virtually, having been unable to physically attend because he was tasked with receiving the late King’s body, or Omuguta, at the Palace.
Two other members — Omubiito Kati Rose Mpuro and Omubiito Kati Martha Rabwoni — reportedly did not attend and did not provide reasons or apologies.
The committee has reportedly been meeting regularly since the beginning of the week as it worked through the succession question.
The members involved in the process include Omusuuga Charles Kamurasi, Msgr. Dr. Isaac Mayombo, Fr. Dr. Charles Oyo, Omubiito Dr. Kagoro Kaijamurubi, Omubiito Job Karamagi, Omubiito Gilbert Mujogya, Omubiito Mbogo Rukidi, Omubiito Isaac Rwabwoni, Justice Mugamba Paul, David Mugamba, Hon. Harriet Nyakake, Hon. Muganzi Patrick, Omubiito Kawamara Patrick, Omubiito Sam Rukidi, Omubiito Kato Rwakatale, Omubiito Olimi Hassan, Omubiito Rose Mpuro, Omubiito Martha Mugamba, Omubiito Martha Rabwoni and Omubiito Ruth Ogeni Komuntale Akiiki.
Sources familiar with the proceedings said Omusuuga Kamurasi expressed satisfaction with the outcome and was pleased that George had emerged as the committee’s choice.
Kamurasi beats Kiijanangoma
Kamurasi’s victory reportedly came against Edward Kiijanangoma, the younger brother of Prince David Kiijanangoma Araali, who is currently battling stage-four throat cancer.
Edward Kiijanangoma is a journalist and news anchor at Uganda Broadcasting Corporation (UBC). He was also reportedly part of an early group of Ugandan media professionals who went to Rwanda and helped establish the country’s state-owned media corporation before returning to Uganda.
His candidacy had therefore been closely watched in sections of the Babiito establishment.
But the committee ultimately settled on Kamurasi.
Who is George Kamurasi Desmond?
George Kamurasi Desmond is a member of the royal Babiito lineage and currently lives in the United States.
He is the son of the late George Desmond “Jimmy” Mugenyi and grandson of the late King George Rukidi III.
His family background gives him a direct connection to the Tooro royal line and places him within the historical succession arrangements of the kingdom.
According to accounts cited in the succession discussions, his father, Jimmy Mugenyi, was the younger brother of King Patrick Matthew Kaboyo Olimi II and was reportedly second in line to succeed his brother under the succession arrangements associated with their father, the late King George Rukidi III.
Kamurasi is also a cousin of the late King Oyo.
His selection therefore places a member of another branch of the Babiito royal family at the centre of one of the most consequential moments in Tooro’s modern history.
Andrew Mwenda enters the succession debate
The succession process has also drawn the attention of prominent political commentator and businessman Andrew Mwenda, a Mutooro with longstanding connections to Uganda’s political establishment and the First Family.
Mwenda publicly confirmed that he had become involved in discussions surrounding the succession and said he had briefed senior military leaders about the committee’s decision.
In a statement issued after the meeting, Mwenda said he had held discussions with Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba, the Chief of Defence Forces of the Uganda People’s Defence Forces and chairman of the Patriotic League of Uganda (PLU), as well as Gen Kayanja Muhanga, the Commander of Land Forces, informing them about the succession developments.
Mwenda said Gen Kainerugaba endorsed the committee’s decision, arguing that Kamurasi’s selection was consistent with Tooro customs, precedents and succession laws.
That intervention is significant because Mwenda is not simply a commentator on Tooro affairs. As a prominent Mutooro who has maintained close relationships with senior members of Uganda’s political establishment, including the First Family, his involvement gives the succession debate an unmistakable political dimension.
However, Mwenda’s account of the discussions should be distinguished from the formal traditional process. The authority to make the official announcement remains with the Babiito leadership under the kingdom’s customs.
Museveni support claimed
Mwenda further claimed that Gen Kainerugaba told him that President Yoweri Museveni supports the decision of the Royal Succession Committee.
According to Mwenda, the President also sent a team led by a senior Cabinet minister to Fort Portal to consult stakeholders over the succession question.
Mwenda said those consultations helped convince the committee that there was broad consensus around Kamurasi’s selection.
The claims have added a major political layer to what is formally a traditional and cultural succession process.
Neither the reported presidential position nor the alleged consultations, however, should be confused with the formal installation of the next Omukama, which remains subject to the Babiito’s traditional procedures.
Museveni reportedly flew Kamurasi back to Uganda
Sources also claimed that President Museveni facilitated Kamurasi’s return to Uganda by providing him with a ticket and arranging for him to travel back into the country ahead of the succession announcement.
According to the sources, Kamurasi is now in Uganda and is expected to remain largely out of the public spotlight until after King Oyo’s burial.
One source alleged that the President had become unhappy with explanations surrounding controversy over the alleged mother of a child said to have been fathered by the late King Oyo.
The claim could not independently be established from the information available, and it remains part of the broader succession-related intrigue surrounding the royal family.
Why the succession is so sensitive
The choice of King Oyo’s successor carries enormous cultural significance for Tooro.
Oyo ascended the throne in 1995 as a child, following the death of his father, King Patrick Matthew Kaboyo Olimi III.
He subsequently became one of Uganda’s longest-serving traditional monarchs, presiding over the Tooro Kingdom for more than three decades.
His reign coincided with the restoration and consolidation of Uganda’s traditional institutions following their abolition under the previous political order.
Throughout his reign, Tooro maintained its cultural institution while operating within Uganda’s constitutional framework, where traditional leaders are prohibited from engaging in partisan politics.
The death of Oyo therefore created a historic transition for one of Uganda’s most prominent kingdoms.
The succession question has been particularly sensitive because it touches not only on royal lineage and Babiito customs, but also on competing expectations within the royal family and the wider Tooro community.
No public coronation yet
Despite the decisive vote, George Kamurasi should not yet be referred to as the formally installed Omukama.
The current process has produced a preferred successor, but the formal public announcement remains pending.
Omusuuga Charles Kamurasi has reportedly told Mwenda that, according to Tooro custom, the public announcement should come after the burial of King Oyo.
Mwenda said he decided to make the information public because of concerns that speculation on social media could create confusion around the succession.
The disclosure has now effectively moved the succession debate from the confines of the Babiito leadership into the public domain.
For now, Kamurasi remains the man selected by the Royal Succession Committee, with 15 of the 18 participating members voting in his favour.
The next major step will be the burial of King Oyo, followed by the formal communication from the Babiito leadership and the subsequent traditional processes required to usher in Tooro’s next monarch.
If the committee’s decision holds, George Kamurasi Desmond will inherit the mantle of the late King Oyo and become the next Omukama of Tooro, marking the beginning of a new chapter for the kingdom.
