The Ugandan government will refrain from gazetting Prince Edward Rukidi Kijanangoma Nyabongo I as the new King of Tooro until the ongoing succession dispute following the death of Omukama Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV is settled, according to Attorney General Dr Sam Mayanja.
Mayanja explained that the Babiito clan elders’ declaration of Kijanangoma as King does not conclude the succession disagreement, since members of the royal family continue to contest the decision.
Speaking in an interview with Bukedde TV, he stressed that the issue must first be addressed through the channels established under Ugandan law before the government can formally acknowledge a new King by means of gazettement.
“The Babiito say they have decided, but even if you are the elders, if your decision does not resolve the issue, the law says you must go to court. It is the court that will direct [King Oyo’s] purported son to be brought forward. That is when the truth will come out,” he said.
Mayanja’s remarks come amid the dispute that arose after King Oyo’s death on 27 August 2026.
The royal family insists the late King was survived by a biological son who, under the terms of his will, ranks as the primary heir to the Tooro throne.
Nevertheless, the Babiito succession committee, headed by Omusuuga Charles Kamurasi, chose Prince Edward Rukidi Kijanangoma Nyobongo I as the successor.
The committee maintained that it had received neither evidence of nor an introduction to any son of the late King who might lay claim to the throne.
Kijanangoma was then proclaimed the new Omukama of Tooro at St John Cathedral in Fort Portal on Saturday, 12 September, during the burial rites for King Oyo.
Kamurasi’s announcement drew applause from those present as he stated: “We have a King. We sat down and agreed on one thing: the King is Prince Edward Rukidi Kijanangoma. Whatever we have done, we have done within the laws of Uganda and the culture of Tooro.”
Earlier, the Attorney General had counselled the government to pause certain elements of the traditional succession ceremony until the disagreement is resolved.
In an opinion dated 12 September 2026 and directed to the President, Mayanja noted that succession to the Tooro throne is regulated by the Constitution of Uganda, the Institution of Traditional or Cultural Leaders Act, and the customs and traditions of the Batooro.
He referred to Section 4 of the Institution of Traditional or Cultural Leaders Act, which allows a person to be installed as a traditional or cultural leader when allegiance stems from birth or descent in line with the customs and traditions of the community concerned.
Mayanja also drew on the late King Oyo’s will of 14 September 2022, in which the former monarch is said to have designated his biological son as the first heir, provided the son was alive and lawfully recognised as such at the time of Oyo’s death.
According to the Attorney General’s opinion, the will specifies that if the King left a son “lawfully recognized as my biological son,” that son would be appointed heir to the Kingdom of Tooro.
The document further designates Prince Komwiswa Yoweri, son of Omusuuga Charles Kamurasi, as the heir and successor should Oyo leave no son capable of succeeding him, or if the son were to die, become permanently incapacitated, or otherwise prove unable to fulfil the duties of the throne.
Mayanja emphasised that only a court of law can examine and rule on the validity and contents of the will.
“King Oyo’s will should be followed. Its validity can only be challenged in the courts of law,” he recommended.
He additionally advised that the traditional rite in which nine coffee beans are cast into the grave of a deceased King by his successor ought to have been deferred because of the unresolved succession question.
Despite this guidance, the Babiito elders carried out the customary practices during Oyo’s burial.
This resulted in a confrontation at the ceremony, with Queen Mother Best Kemigisa reportedly seeking to interrupt the proceedings for nearly two hours.
Mayanja stated that the dispute must now proceed through the proper legal channels.
He outlined that once the succession matter is settled, the competent authorities should notify the Minister of General Duties, who would then write to the Attorney General for approval prior to the gazettement of the new King.
As a result, although Kijanangoma has been named King by the Babiito succession committee and has started carrying out certain royal functions, official government recognition of him remains suspended until the competing claims to the Tooro throne are resolved.