FORT PORTAL, Uganda — The succession battle for the Tooro Kingdom throne remains unresolved nearly three weeks after the death of King Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV, with Justice and Constitutional Affairs Minister Norbert Mao declaring that no successor can be recognised until the dispute is settled and the new king’s name is formally gazetted.
King Oyo, who died on August 27, 2026, at the age of 34 after a 31-year reign, was buried on September 12 at the Karambi Royal Tombs in Amagasani following a 6km procession and a seven-gun salute. But the solemnity of the burial has done little to quell a deepening rift within the royal family over who should inherit the throne.
A Kingdom Divided
Since the king’s death, the royal family has split into competing factions. One camp has declared Prince Edward Rukidi Kiijanangoma as King Edward Rukidi Nabongo I, a move that has been challenged by the immediate royal family. The immediate family insists that King Oyo’s biological son — named in his will as his heir — should ascend to the throne.
The dispute has also drawn in the Queen Mother, who has alleged that her family is under house arrest, further escalating tensions within the kingdom.
Mao: No King Until Gazettement
Speaking on Sunday evening, Minister Mao said the conflict had not been settled despite the burial, and that his ministry and the Attorney General are yet to advise President Yoweri Museveni on the matter.
“I have just returned from Fort Portal; we buried King Oyo, but the conflict there is untouchable. Me, as the minister who oversees the constitution, I will coordinate with the Attorney General and advise the President,” Mao said.
He called for calm among the Tooro Kingdom, the royal family, and all Ugandans, stressing that the enthronement of a king is not complete until the successor’s name is included in the national gazette.
“But I want to strengthen everyone; everyone must follow the law, and also enthroning any King does not end until their name is put in the national gazette. If your name is not yet in the gazette that you are the king of a certain place, it means that you didn’t fulfil the process of a King’s enthronement,” he said.
Mao emphasised that while cultural traditions guide the enthronement of a king, any dispute must first be resolved before the successor can be gazetted.
“Enthroning a King is guided by a specific cultural tradition, but where there is dispute, the law is very clear: when there is conflict, that conflict must first be resolved before you are included in the gazette. So people should stop exchanging a lot of words; what is important is that we have the very clear law,” he said.
The minister did not specify when he and the Attorney General would meet President Museveni, but said the process was on course. He explained his position using an analogy: “If you find a road that indicates keep left, when you get an accident from the right, should your case be debated, you should be taken to prison right away, before keep left means you must be left.”
Attorney General: Will Should Guide Succession
The succession dispute has also drawn the attention of Attorney General Sam Mayanja, who advised President Museveni that King Oyo’s will should guide the process alongside Ugandan law and Batooro customs and traditions.
“King Oyo’s will should be followed. Its validity can only be challenged in the courts of law,” Mayanja said in a legal opinion dated September 12, 2026.
He cited Article 246 of the Constitution and the Institution of Traditional or Cultural Leaders Act, 2011, while noting that the Tooro Kingdom Constitution remains suspended after King Oyo stopped its observance in 2013. A review committee had not completed its work by the time of his death.
According to the will, a lawfully recognised biological son would be King Oyo’s heir.
“I hereby declare and direct that if at the date of my death I am survived by a son, lawfully recognised as my biological son, I appoint him as my heir to the kingdom of Tooro,” the will states in part.
It also names Prince Komwiswa Yoweri, son of Omusuuga Charles, as an alternative successor if there is no son able to take over or if the son is unable to perform the duties of the throne.
Mayanja said disputes should first be handled by a council of elders or clan leaders and, if unresolved, taken to court. He also recommended suspending the traditional ceremony where nine coffee beans are thrown into the deceased king’s grave until the succession dispute is settled.
“Given the dispute surrounding succession, the ceremony of throwing beans in the grave should be suspended pending the determination of the succession question,” the opinion states.
Mayanja cited the burial of former King Kaboyo, where the ritual was performed three months later after his successor had been identified.
A Legacy Cut Short
King Oyo was enthroned in 1995 at the age of three — making him one of the world’s youngest monarchs — and died aged 34 while receiving cancer treatment in the United States. During his reign, he became a UN Goodwill Ambassador and campaigned against HIV/AIDS. He also had close ties with former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, who was named a special adviser to the monarch and donated money towards refurbishment of the royal palace.
Kiijanangoma, 56, has been described by fellow journalists as quiet and humble. The next king will inherit a royal estate including large areas of land and cash payments from the central government.
What Happens Next
Gazettement is the official recognition of a traditional king or cultural leader by Uganda’s central government through the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development and is published in the Uganda Gazette. Until that happens, the Tooro throne remains vacant — and the kingdom remains in limbo.
As Mao put it, the law is clear: where there is conflict, that conflict must first be resolved before any name is entered into the gazette. For now, the people of Tooro can only wait, and hope that the dispute is resolved peacefully and in accordance with both the law and the traditions of their kingdom.
