Tooro Kingdom is in turmoil, and the government has picked its playbook.
Following the death of Omukama Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV on August 27, 2026, and the bitter fight over who takes his throne, Minister of Gender, Labour and Social Development Gen. Henry Tumukunde says the government will lean on the Institution of Traditional or Cultural Leaders Act, 2011, specifically Section 15 to sort out the mess.
The Act gives effect to Article 246 of the Constitution and recognises traditional leaders installed by birth or descent under community custom. Section 15 spells out the process clearly: any dispute over whether a community should have a cultural leader, who that leader should be, or whether the right installation procedure was followed has to first go through a council of elders, clan leaders, or a body the community itself picks. Court only comes in if that fails.
Tumukunde first flagged this approach on September 2, at a press briefing held at the late king’s Buziga residence. He told journalists government wasn’t about to rush a successor announcement before hearing from President Museveni and the Babiito clan, insisting they would be following Section 15 of the 2011 Act. He also warned people off social media speculation, saying any outcome would only come after proper consultations.
Museveni later sent him to Fort Portal to cool tempers ahead of Saturday’s burial at Karambi Royal Tombs. Tumukunde met the royal family and Babiito leaders there, pushing the message that the disputes needed sorting before the funeral, so the send-off wouldn’t be hijacked by controversy.
Then came the twist. Late on September 9, the 21-member Royal Succession Committee, chaired by Omusuuga Charles Kamurasi, dropped its announcement. At Karuziika Palace, Monsignor Isaiah Mayombo read out a resolution, signed by 19 committee members naming Prince Edward Rukidi Kijanangoma, a former UBC journalist and grandson of the late Omukama George David Rukidi III, as the chosen successor. The committee said the pick followed due diligence and Tooro custom.
The royal family wasn’t having it.
Princess Ruth Komuntale, Oyo’s sister, said the announcement blindsided them. She said the family had already met Tumukunde, Kamurasi and other Babiito leaders to go through the late king’s will dated September 14, 2022, and had agreed lawyers needed to be consulted first, before anything was made official.
That will, presented by Oyo’s long-serving lawyer Michael Akampurira, names the king’s son as first in line, followed by Prince Yoweri Komwiswa, then Prince Solomon Nyaika, and finally Omusuuga Charles Kamurasi as the last fallback option. Tumukunde was in the room when it was presented.
Komuntale had backup too, Princess Elizabeth Bagaaya stood with her. Together, the family insists the process is incomplete and that the committee jumped the gun on a decision that doesn’t match what the king put in writing.
It’s exactly the kind of standoff Section 15 was built for, a fight over who the next leader should be, and whether procedure was actually followed. The elders and clan have made their move. If nobody budges, the High Court is next.
Tumukunde’s message hasn’t changed: the legal ladder exists, the law is clear, and Tooro needs to climb it, without ripping itself apart before Saturday’s burial.
