Prominent journalist and businessman Andrew Mwenda has launched a fresh and blistering attack on former Tooro Queen Mother Best Kemigisa, accusing her of using the death of King Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV to advance what he describes as a calculated attempt to seize control of the Tooro Kingdom.
Mwenda, a well-connected figure within Uganda’s political and cultural circles, dismissed calls for restraint and sympathy for Kemigisa on grounds that she is mourning the death of her son, arguing that her actions since the King’s death demonstrate a political and succession agenda rather than grief.
In a lengthy post published on X, Mwenda directly addressed people who have sympathised with Kemigisa and urged them to reconsider their position.
“Best Kemigisa has not been grieving her son, she has been scheming to usurp power in our kingdom,” Mwenda alleged.
His remarks come amid an increasingly bitter dispute over the succession to the Tooro throne following the death of King Oyo, whose passing has triggered competing claims and intense debate within the royal establishment over who should inherit the crown.
Mwenda challenges existence of alleged heir
At the centre of Mwenda’s latest intervention is the controversial claim that the late King Oyo left behind a son who could potentially have a direct claim to the throne.
Mwenda questioned why the alleged child has not been publicly produced or even identified.
“If he left a son, can she produce the son or at least a photo of him?” he asked.
Mwenda also pointed to Kemigisa’s public remarks at a family baptism celebration in September 2025, arguing that they contradict the subsequent claim that King Oyo had fathered a three-year-old boy.
According to Mwenda, Kemigisa hosted a baptism party for her grandson, the child of her daughter Princess Ruth Komuntale, on September 9, 2025.
He claims that during the event, Kemigisa publicly referred to having one grandchild and encouraged Oyo to find a queen so that he could have another grandchild.
Mwenda argues that this raises questions about how an allegedly existing son of Oyo could have remained publicly unknown.
“One year later, Oyo had produced a 3 year old boy,” Mwenda wrote, questioning the circumstances surrounding the claim.
He cited a Daily Monitor report published on September 11, 2025, which he said covered the baptism event.
‘Why was the child never mentioned?’
Mwenda further questioned why the alleged heir was not mentioned during public ceremonies surrounding King Oyo’s death.
He particularly pointed to Kemigisa’s speech during the church service for the late King.
“Even in her own funeral speech at the church service, she made no reference to the existence of that son,” Mwenda claimed.
He challenged those defending Kemigisa to explain why a family would fail to publicly acknowledge the existence of what would potentially be the deceased King’s only child.
“Does anyone know of a person who died and the family did not show, or even mention, the existence of their only child?” he asked.
The claims have added another explosive dimension to an already sensitive succession dispute in the kingdom, where questions surrounding lineage, legitimacy and the authority to determine the next Omukama have become increasingly contentious.
Mwenda recounts funeral confrontation
Mwenda also levelled serious allegations concerning the handling of King Oyo’s body following his death.
According to him, Kemigisa resisted efforts to move the body from the palace to the church for the funeral service, forcing the intervention of the army.
“When all these schemes were foiled, she refused to release the body from the palace to church. The army intervened to release it,” he alleged.
He further claimed that a second confrontation occurred at the royal burial grounds, where, according to him, the burial was delayed by more than two hours.
Mwenda alleged that the army again intervened to secure control of the body.
He claimed the situation had become so serious that President Yoweri Museveni personally called Kemigisa and appealed to her to allow the funeral proceedings to continue.
These allegations, if independently substantiated, would point to an extraordinary confrontation between members of the Tooro royal establishment and state security authorities during the funeral of one of Uganda’s most prominent traditional rulers.
‘Her primary grief was loss of power’
Mwenda rejected the argument that Kemigisa should be given more time because she is mourning her son.
Instead, he accused her of exploiting public sympathy associated with bereavement.
“So please, don’t falsely accuse Best Kemigisa of grieving,” he wrote.
“If she did, it was not necessarily grief of losing a son. That was secondary. Her primary grief was loss of power.”
Mwenda went further, accusing the former Queen Mother of deliberately manipulating public opinion by presenting herself as a grieving mother while allegedly attempting to influence the succession process.
He described the alleged strategy as an effort to “feign grief to win sympathy” and use that sympathy to challenge established Tooro customs and traditions.
Tooro succession battle intensifies
The explosive intervention comes as the battle over the Tooro succession continues to divide opinion within and beyond the royal family.
The death of King Oyo has created a constitutional and cultural moment for the kingdom, with members of the Babiito royal clan expected to play a central role in determining the next Omukama in accordance with Tooro traditions.
The succession dispute has already generated competing claims over potential heirs, with different factions within the royal establishment advancing different positions.
Mwenda’s intervention is likely to further intensify the contest because of his longstanding links to Uganda’s political establishment and his public interest in Tooro affairs.
He concluded his latest attack by warning that the patience of Batooro had run out.
“Batooro have been very accommodating, tolerant, respectful and forgiving of her many transgressions over the years,” Mwenda wrote.
He accused this tolerance of giving Kemigisa the confidence to allegedly disregard the authority of the royal clan and Tooro traditions.
“This is what gave her license to walk over the Royal clan; to exercise impunity, and to disregard our culture. Not anymore!” he declared.
Mwenda’s allegations remain his account of events and would require independent confirmation from the former Queen Mother, the Tooro royal family, the royal succession authorities and other parties involved in the funeral and succession process.
The dispute now threatens to become one of the most consequential succession battles in the modern history of the Tooro Kingdom, as competing factions seek to determine who will inherit the throne of the late King Oyo.
