Succession dispute grips Ugandan kingdom after king's death
The death of King Oyo Nyimba of Uganda's Tooro kingdom has triggered a succession dispute, with a clan committee naming a TV news anchor as crown prince while the king's sister insists his will names a previously unknown son as heir.
A succession crisis has broken out in Uganda's Tooro kingdom following the death of King Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV on 27 August in the United States, where he was being treated for cancer. Oyo became the world's youngest reigning monarch when he ascended the throne in 1995 at age three.
On Wednesday, the royal clan's succession committee announced it had selected Oyo's cousin, Prince Edward Rukidi Kijanangoma, a news anchor and editor at public broadcaster UBC, as crown prince. Later that day, however, Oyo's sister, Princess Ruth Nsemere Komuntale, told a press conference that her brother's will designated a son — whose existence had not previously been publicly known — as his rightful successor.
A portion of the will shared by the kingdom's spokesperson states that any lawfully recognised biological son surviving the king should be appointed his heir. Queen Mother Best Kemigisa Akiiki condemned the clan members who chose a new king despite having had the will read to them beforehand.
Oyo was unmarried and had not been publicly known to have children. Tooro's prime minister, Calvin Armstrong Rwomiire Akiiki, first revealed the existence of a son when announcing the king's death, saying the child's identity would be disclosed later according to kingdom custom.
Prominent Ugandan journalist Andrew Mwenda, who is related to the royal family, said the family had been unable to produce a photograph of the boy and had declined to share details about his mother's family. Mwenda noted that under Tooro tradition, a king's son can only succeed him if born to a queen formally married to the king. The prime minister urged calm, saying the matter should be resolved through proper legal and customary processes rather than public confrontation.
Oyo is due to be buried on Saturday at the Karambi royal tombs in Fort Portal. Tooro is one of five Ugandan kingdoms formally recognised by the government; their monarchs hold no political power but retain significant cultural influence. The kingdoms, abolished in 1967, were restored by President Yoweri Museveni in 1993.
