Chief of Defence Forces Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba has directed journalist and political commentator Andrew Mwenda to immediately stop speaking about the ongoing succession issues in the Tooro Kingdom.

In a post on X (formerly Twitter) on 14 September 2026, Gen. Muhoozi stated: “I have instructed comrade Andrew Mwenda not to speak about the issues of Tooro again. He will stop it immediately. Once again, as PLU we commiserate with the great Batooro people on the tragedy that befell all of us. May the soul of the late King Oyo rest in peace.”

The directive comes amid a bitter and highly public succession battle that erupted after the death of Omukama Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV on 27 August 2026 in the United States, where he had been receiving treatment for cancer.

The late king, who ascended the throne as a three-year-old in 1995 following the death of his father, had ruled for more than three decades and was one of the world’s longest-serving traditional monarchs at the time of his death at age 34.

Mwenda, a prominent Ugandan journalist, member of the Babiito royal clan, and relative of the late king, had taken a highly visible role in communicating developments around the succession. He publicly announced early claims that a 21-member Royal Succession Committee of the Babiito clan had selected Prince George Desmond Kamurasi as the preferred successor, stating that the choice had the backing of Gen. Muhoozi and even President Yoweri Museveni.

Those claims were later disputed by clan leaders, including Omusuuga Charles Kamurasi, who distanced the committee from Mwenda’s announcements.

Mwenda also launched sharp public attacks on Queen Mother Best Kemigisa. He accused her of inventing or promoting a non-existent biological son of the late king in a bid to influence the succession, questioned the legitimacy of claims surrounding any purported heir citing lack of photographs, conflicting names such as Jacob or Jackson Oyo, and absence of traditional recognition, and alleged broader historical wrongdoing, including past interference in royal affairs.

He argued that under Tooro custom, a king’s son can only succeed if born to an officially married queen (omugole/kitebe) and maintained that the Babiito clan’s processes were the proper cultural mechanism.

These comments, made in the midst of national mourning and shortly around the burial, drew significant public criticism for their timing and tone.

Gen. Muhoozi’s order effectively ends Mwenda’s public interventions on the matter.

The core conflict pits the Babiito royal clan’s succession committee against the late king’s immediate family. The committee, chaired by Omusuuga Charles Kamurasi and comprising about 21 members selected by a larger gathering of the Babiito, ultimately proclaimed Prince Edward Rukidi Kijanangoma Nyabongo I as the new Omukama.

The announcement was made publicly during burial rites at St John’s Cathedral in Fort Portal on 12 September 2026. Clan leaders maintained they had followed Tooro customs and Ugandan law, and that no sufficient evidence or formal introduction of a biological son of King Oyo had been presented to them.

The royal family, led by Queen Mother Best Kemigisa and Princess Ruth Nsemere Komuntale, has rejected this.

They point to a 2022 will of King Oyo that designates a biological son whose identity has not been publicly disclosed in detail as the primary heir, provided he is alive and lawfully recognised.

The will reportedly sets out a fallback line of succession involving princes from Omusuuga Charles Kamurasi’s family (including Prince Komwiswa Yoweri and Prince Solomon Nyaika) if no such son can take the throne.

Family members have described the committee’s actions as those of a “self-appointed group” and insisted the will and traditional family claims should prevail.

Attorney General Dr Sam Mayanja has stated that the government will not gazette (officially recognise) Prince Kijanangoma as the new King of Tooro until the dispute is resolved.

He emphasised that even a decision by clan elders does not settle the matter if contested by the royal family, and that the issue must go through proper legal channels, including the courts, which can examine the validity of the will.

Succession is governed by the Constitution, the Institution of Traditional or Cultural Leaders Act, and Tooro customs. While Kijanangoma has been named by the clan and has begun performing some functions, formal government recognition remains suspended.

The dispute has overshadowed the mourning period, with reports of tensions during funeral rites, including attempts by the Queen Mother to interrupt proceedings.

It has also drawn in political figures and highlighted the intersection of cultural tradition, family claims, and state oversight of Uganda’s traditional institutions.

As the legal and cultural processes continue, Gen. Muhoozi’s intervention underscores efforts by some national leaders to lower the temperature of public commentary around a sensitive royal succession that remains unresolved.