Uganda’s government is mediating last-ditch talks to resolve a succession dispute in the Tooro Kingdom so that King Oyo Nyimba can be buried on Saturday, a kingdom spokesperson told Reuters on Friday.
Oyo, crowned in 1995 at age three and dead at 34 after cancer treatment in the United States, is due for burial at the Karambi Royal Tombs on the 31st anniversary of his coronation. Kingdom spokesperson Vincent Mugume said a new king must be in place to perform burial rituals reserved for the successor.
A royal-clan succession committee named cousin Edward Rukidi Kijanangoma, a news anchor and editor at state broadcaster UBC, as the next Omukama. Oyo’s sister, Princess Ruth Komuntale, said his will directs that a lawfully recognized biological son should inherit. Queen mother Kemigisa denounced the committee’s move and said the family had been placed under house arrest after royal guards were removed — claims the military did not immediately answer.
Prime Minister Calvin Armstrong Rwomiire urged both sides to bury the king first, then settle the succession calmly under custom and law.
Sources: Reuters via Straits Times, Reuters
