By Joseph Kiggundu
Two sons of Omusuuga Charles Kamurasi have publicly broken ranks with their father over the succession to the late King Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV.
The duo say they back Oyo’s Will which they say sets out a clear path for continuity of the Tooro Kingdom.
Patrick Mpuuga and Prince Solomon Nyaika, sons of Kamurasi, told journalists in Fortportal on Thursday that they supported Oyo’s wishes and accused unnamed individuals of using their father to advance interests unrelated to the kingdom’s traditional succession.
Mpuuga said the will left by Oyo was explicit and should take precedence over earlier succession arrangements cited by members of the Babiito clan.
“We stand behind our elder brother and friend (King Oyo), and we strongly stand with him because we know he left a will. That will is expressly clear.”
He said the document (Will) had already been seen by some members of the public and would be made available more broadly in due course.
“His word is expressly clear on the way forward for continuity,” Mpuuga said
The two princes’ intervention is significant because their father, Kamurasi, has been at the centre of the competing succession process.
A 21-member Babiito Royal Succession Committee selected Prince Edward Kijanangoma Rukidi as the next Omukama, a decision rejected by members of Oyo’s immediate family.
Mpuuga said he was particularly surprised by his father’s position.
“Second of all, we disagree with our own father. It is very surprising that he has taken that position,” he said.
He also rejected reliance on a previous succession document associated with Omukama Rukiidi, which some members of the clan have invoked in arguing for the current process.
“The will of the king now supersedes any will that existed in the past,” Mpuuga said. “So, any of those people who are evoking the will of our grandfather, whom I also speak with all due respect, no longer stands.”
The princes also challenged the continued role of their father in the succession process, saying Kamurasi had retired as head of the Babiito clan during last year’s coronation anniversary celebrations.
They said the retirement should have triggered a process to identify and install a successor as Musuuga, raising questions about Kamurasi’s authority to lead the current succession process.
Their position places the two princes directly at odds with the clan process their father has been associated with.
The dispute has intensified following Oyo’s death on Aug. 27 at the age of 34 after treatment abroad. The king, who ascended the throne as a three-year-old in 1995, had reigned for 31 years.
The immediate issue is now whether the succession should be determined according to the process being advanced by the Babiito clan or the wishes contained in a will attributed to Oyo.
‘Kings are not elected’
Mpuuga and Nyaika also rejected suggestions that the Tooro monarch could be selected through an election.
They argued that the institution of the Omukama is hereditary and governed by tradition rather than a popular vote.
Their position challenges descriptions of the current process as an election and instead places emphasis on lineage, customary authority and the wishes of the deceased king.
The intervention follows a bitter split between sections of the royal family and the Babiito clan over Kijanangoma’s selection.
Princess Ruth Nsemere Komuntale, Oyo’s sister, has also rejected the announcement of a new king, saying it contradicts her late brother’s will.
The Babiito Royal Succession Committee, however, has maintained its position and said it will proceed with preparations for Kijanangoma’s coronation. A representative of the committee has said the clan is prepared to defend its decision in court if challenged.
The disagreement comes as Tooro prepares to bury Oyo on Saturday, Sept. 12, the date that would have marked the 31st anniversary of his coronation.
For the royal family, the dispute has become an increasingly public contest over Oyo’s final wishes and the authority to determine his successor. For the Babiito clan, the issue is one of customary authority and the traditional process for installing an Omukama.
The competing positions have created an unusually public succession crisis in a kingdom where the authority of the royal family, the Babiito clan and the Musuuga intersect.
The intervention by Kamurasi’s own sons further complicates the dispute by placing members of the clan’s leadership family on opposite sides of the succession question