Prince Edward Rukidi Kijanangoma Nyabongo II is set to take the throne as king of Uganda’s Tooro kingdom, a move that has stirred a serious dispute over succession. The coronation will follow traditional ceremonies starting at midnight, including a 4km walk to the Karuziika royal palace and a mock fight symbolising the struggle for kingship.
Kijanangoma, 56, is known in Uganda not just as royalty but as a storyteller and a longtime editor and anchor at the state broadcaster. His rise to the throne has drawn attention beyond Uganda, in part because the process broke with tradition.
Tooro is one of Uganda’s four main historical kingdoms. It has been ruled for 31 years by King Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV, who became king at just three years old in 1995 after his father died. The late King Oyo passed away last month from cancer at 34.
Traditionally, the throne would go to a recognised son of the late king. Close royal family members say Oyo left a young son and a will naming him as successor. But the child has never been publicly introduced or accepted by the 21-member Babiito clan committee responsible for choosing the king. The late king was never publicly married, and there is little public information about his wife or son.
Queen Best Kemigisa, Oyo’s mother, has openly challenged the decision to select Kijanangoma. She called it the “announcement of a second king” after the will was read. “As a mother, that was extraordinarily painful,” she said, describing how celebrations for the new king took place just metres from her son’s body.
Kemigisa added that Oyo’s son, currently in Texas, had planned to return to Uganda but could not amid “tense and polarised succession dispute”. In a post on X, she said, “No child should be placed in circumstances where returning to his father’s homeland could mean being drawn into hostility and conflict.”
The Tooro kingdom’s Information Minister Charles Mwanguhya said the son “hasn’t been presented anywhere,” suggesting that there is growing acceptance that King Oyo did not leave behind a son. The crown, he said, has moved to a different line within the ruling Babiito clan.
Kijanangoma and the late King Oyo are cousins, both grandsons of King George David Matthew Kamurasi Rukidi III, who ruled Tooro from 1928 to 1965. The new king’s father was the first Kijanangoma, named by Rukidi III, meaning “the one who comes with the royal drum”.
Among others considered for the throne was Prince George Desmond Kamurasi, captain and goalkeeper for South East Dons, a UK amateur football club. He declined the offer, citing other responsibilities.
After his formal announcement as king, Kijanangoma promised an open palace and pledged to focus on unity and development. “I ask you for one thing – they have given me this title as king but I cannot work alone, I have to work with you,” he said.
Uganda’s traditional kings hold no formal political power but remain influential culturally. The kingdoms were abolished in 1967 but restored in the early 1990s by President Yoweri Museveni. The government said this was to promote cultural pride and national unity, though some view it as a way to secure political loyalty.
The government supports the Babiito clan’s choice of Kijanangoma. Attorney General Sam Mayanja confirmed the Tooro kingdom was cleared to proceed with the coronation since no formal complaint has been filed. Museveni is scheduled to attend the ceremony, and his son Muhoozi Kainerugaba publicly backed Kijanangoma, posting “Long may he reign” on X.
The dispute remains unresolved, with the late king’s mother and close relatives unhappy with the selection. Yet the royal succession committee insists their choice follows Tooro customs and traditions. The coronation will go ahead amid these tensions, marking a new chapter for the kingdom.
According to Joy Online.
