Attorney General Sam Mayanja has indicated that the Babiito Royal Clan can proceed with the planned coronation of Prince Edward Rukidi Kijanangoma Nyabongo I as the new King of Tooro.

He noted that no one has formally presented the alleged will or the purported heir said to have been left by the late King Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV.

Mayanja said the succession dispute remains unresolved because those claiming the late king left a will naming his son as heir have neither produced the document nor presented the alleged heir to start the legal process.

“These people who have given the information that there’s a will, there’s a son who should take over, have not come out. Maybe the baby doesn’t exist, so let them proceed,” he stated.

His remarks come against the backdrop of an ongoing succession dispute within the Tooro royal family following King Oyo’s death in August 2026.

Mayanja also clarified that his latest comments do not contradict earlier legal advice he gave President Yoweri Museveni on the Tooro succession.

He explained that the law does not allow a person to ascend a traditional throne while their father, the sitting king, is still alive.

“You cannot ascend the leadership or the throne of our tribes if your father is still alive. So the controversy has risen, then the law says the Traditional Rulers Act, Section 15, if there’s that conflict then let the elders’ council resolve, if it fails go to court. So that’s what I said,” he noted.

In his earlier advice to the President, Mayanja had argued that the late King Oyo’s alleged will should be taken into account when determining the successor.

That position was challenged by members of the Babiito Royal Clan after they announced Prince Edward Rukidi Kijanangoma as the new King.

In the earlier opinion, Mayanja wrote that succession to traditional leadership is primarily based on birth and descent, and that a valid will left by a deceased king should be respected.

“The law recognises that, in ascending to the throne, allegiance principally is derived from birth and subsequently by descent,” he stated.

“It therefore follows that where there is a direct descendant of the King by birth, that person, in accordance with King’s valid will would ascend to the throne in accordance with the culture and customs of the Batooro people.”

He referred to a will dated 14 September 2022 that he said provided for King Oyo’s successor. However, neither the alleged will nor the identity of the reported son has been formally presented in court, leaving the dispute without judicial determination.

The controversy began shortly after Oyo’s death when Queen Mother Best Kemigisa announced that the late king had left a son who should succeed him.

The child has not been publicly presented to the Babiito elders or formally introduced as the heir.

Tensions escalated during Oyo’s burial when the Queen Mother reportedly opposed Kijanangoma performing the first traditional succession rituals.

Despite the objections, Kijanangoma proceeded with the initial installation rites.

The matter later drew the attention of both Mayanja and Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs Norbert Mao.

Mayanja had previously stated that the government would not gazette Kijanangoma as King until the succession dispute was resolved.

The Babiito succession committee nevertheless endorsed Kijanangoma, saying it had followed Tooro customs and the applicable legal framework.

On 15 September, the Tooro Kingdom Supreme Council also endorsed him, adding the kingdom’s representative body’s support to the clan’s decision.

The head of the Babiito Royal Clan, Omujwera Musuuga Charles Kamurasi, subsequently announced 29 September 2026 as the date for Kijanangoma’s coronation at Karuziika Royal Palace in Fort Portal.