Chief of Defence Forces Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba has thrown his weight behind the new Tooro monarch, publicly declaring Prince Edward Rukidi Kijanangoma as His Majesty Edward Rukidi Nyabongo I, even as a bitter succession dispute continues to divide members of the Tooro royal family.
In a post on X on Tuesday, September 15, Gen Muhoozi said:
“My fellow Ugandans the new Omukama of Tooro is His Majesty Edward Rukidi Nyabongo I. Long may he reign. God bless him always. God bless Tooro.”
The declaration is likely to further cement Kijanangoma’s position following his selection by the Babiito Royal Clan, but it comes at a particularly sensitive moment after the succession dispute escalated from a traditional disagreement into a legal and constitutional question.
Kijanangoma, a former Uganda Broadcasting Corporation journalist and cousin to the late King Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV, was selected by a 21-member Royal Succession Committee shortly after Oyo’s death on August 27.
The committee subsequently declared that he would reign as Edward Rukidi Nyabongo I.
However, the decision immediately triggered fierce resistance from sections of the royal family.
THE SECRET SON THAT SHOOK TOORO
At the heart of the controversy is the alleged existence of a biological son of the late King Oyo.
Princess Ruth Nsemere Komuntale, Oyo’s sister, revealed that her brother had left a 2022 will directing that, if he died with a lawfully recognised biological son, the child should become heir to the Tooro throne.
The revelation transformed what initially appeared to be a straightforward succession into a major royal crisis.
The reported son had never been publicly presented as Oyo’s heir before his death, and his identity and status have remained a subject of intense debate.
The Babiito Succession Committee has defended its decision to overlook the reported child, arguing that traditional succession cannot be based simply on claims made outside the kingdom’s established recognition processes.
Fr Charles Oyo, a member and spokesperson of the 21-member committee, said the clan had heard claims about Oyo’s children but could not select a monarch based on information that had not been formally presented and verified through the kingdom’s traditional structures.
The dispute has therefore pitted Oyo’s alleged wishes against the authority of the Babiito clan to determine succession according to Tooro customs.
KOMUNTALE AND BAGAYA REJECT KIJANANGOMA
The selection was publicly rejected by Princess Komuntale, the late king’s sister, who said the royal family had not been adequately consulted.
She was backed by Princess Elizabeth Bagaya, Oyo’s paternal aunt and a prominent figure in Tooro’s royal establishment.
Komuntale said the family had already discussed Oyo’s will with government representatives and expected further consultations before a successor was announced. Bagaya publicly endorsed Komuntale’s position and asked the public to listen to the late king’s sister.
The Babiito clan, however, hit back, insisting that it possessed the traditional authority to select the Omukama and challenging those opposed to the decision to seek redress in court.
QUEEN MOTHER’S EXPLOSIVE OBJECTION
Queen Mother Best Kemigisa also rejected Kijanangoma’s selection, accusing the succession committee of moving too quickly while the body of her son was still lying in state.
Kemigisa said the royal family had understood that the succession process would be paused to allow consultations over Oyo’s alleged will.
She questioned why the announcement of a new king had been made before the late monarch was buried.
The dispute became even more explosive when Kemigisa alleged that security forces had effectively placed members of the royal family under house arrest.
The government denied the allegation.
State Minister for Internal Affairs Juma Witonze Kiseka said the security deployment around the palace was intended to protect mourners and members of the royal family and did not amount to house arrest.
GOVERNMENT INTERVENTION
The succession dispute eventually drew the direct attention of President Yoweri Museveni’s government.
Gen Henry Tumukunde was reportedly sent to engage the royal family, while the government sought ways of preventing the dispute from disrupting Oyo’s burial.
The government-backed discussions, however, did not end the disagreement.
Instead, the controversy followed the late king to his final resting place at the Karambi Royal Tombs.
On September 12, Musuuga Charles Kamurasi reaffirmed Kijanangoma’s selection during Oyo’s funeral service at St John’s Cathedral in Fort Portal. He said the selection had been made in accordance with Uganda’s laws and Tooro’s cultural and traditional norms.
Kijanangoma subsequently performed the traditional succession ritual at Oyo’s grave, including the casting of nine coffee berries, effectively marking the transfer of traditional power.
THEN CAME THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
The controversy took an even more dramatic turn after Attorney General Dr Sam Mayanja issued a legal opinion to President Museveni.
Mayanja advised that Oyo’s will should guide the succession process, arguing that its validity could only be challenged in a court of law.
He also questioned whether the 21-member committee constituted by the Babiito clan had the legal mandate to appoint a traditional or cultural leader.
The Attorney General further advised that the traditional ritual involving the nine coffee berries should be suspended until the succession dispute was resolved.
But the Babiito clan has now rejected the Attorney General’s position, arguing that the legal opinion was addressed to President Museveni and not to the clan.
Fr Charles Oyo said the clan therefore did not consider itself bound by the opinion.
The clash has created an extraordinary situation in which the royal clan, sections of the royal family and elements within government appear to hold different positions on who has the final word over the Tooro throne.
MUHOOZI’S DECLARATION ADDS POLITICAL WEIGHT
Against that backdrop, Gen Muhoozi’s declaration that Edward Rukidi Nyabongo I is the new Omukama carries significant symbolic and political weight.
Although Uganda’s traditional kingdoms have no sovereign political authority, their cultural influence remains enormous.
Muhoozi’s public statement therefore comes as a powerful endorsement of Kijanangoma at a time when his legitimacy remains contested by members of the late king’s immediate family.
It also comes days after Kijanangoma was formally introduced through traditional rites and after Musuuga Charles Kamurasi publicly reaffirmed his selection.
The new king has meanwhile begun assuming his royal duties and has pledged to restore Tooro to what he described as its former glory.
A KINGDOM STILL DIVIDED
For now, the succession crisis is far from over.
Justice and Constitutional Affairs Minister Norbert Mao has said the matter is not necessarily settled until the new king is formally gazetted, meaning the legal status of the succession remains a live issue.
The Babiito clan insists Kijanangoma is the rightful monarch.
The late king’s mother and sister have challenged that position.
Princess Bagaya has backed Komuntale.
The alleged existence of Oyo’s son remains unresolved.
And the Attorney General has advised that Oyo’s will should guide the succession, while the Babiito have rejected the advice as non-binding on them.
For a kingdom that had just lost a monarch who ruled for more than three decades after ascending the throne at the age of three, the transition to Edward Rukidi Nyabongo I has become one of the most contentious royal successions in Tooro’s modern history.
