By Joseph Kiggundu
FORT PORTAL. Princess Ruth Komuntale, sister of the late King Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV and her paternal aunt Princess Elizabeth Bagaya , have openly rejected the election of Prince Edward Rukidi Kijanangoma as the successor to the Tooro throne.
The duo say the process had not been concluded and that the late king’s Will provided clear instructions on succession.
Speaking to Journalists at Karuzika Palace on Wednesday night shortly after the Royal Succession Committee made the pronouncement , Komuntale, said members of the royal family had only hours earlier met with Omusuga Charles Kamurasi and other members of the Babiito clan to review King Oyo’s Will and had agreed to consult lawyers before proclaiming a successor.
She said the announcement of Kijanangoma as the next king therefore came as a surprise to the royal family.
“Clearly, the next person in line is the son. That’s the next heir to the throne,” Komuntale said, referring to Oyo’s son.
She added that King Oyo had left “very strict instructions” on who could succeed him, including provisions for an alternative successor should the preferred heir be unable to take the throne.
Komuntale said the royal family had been preparing for another meeting on Thursday with lawyers to examine the will before any successor was formally proclaimed.
“What happened today honestly really took us by surprise. We have no idea that it was going to happen,” she said.
She said the family had held a “very good constructive meeting” with Gender Minister Henry Tumukunde, Kamurasi and other Babiito earlier in the day, during which the will was reviewed.
Her remarks came after members of the Babiito clan reportedly announced at Karuzika Palace that Edward Rukidi Kijanangoma, a journalist with Uganda Broadcasting Corporation, had been selected as the new king.
The announcement has exposed divisions over the process of determining Oyo’s successor, less than two weeks after the king died in the United States at the age of 34 following a period of medical treatment.
Komuntale, who was accompanied and supported by, Princess Bagaya, strongly disputed the suggestion that Oyo had authorised the choice of another successor under the circumstances announced on Wednesday.
“As my brother, late brother’s sister, that information is incorrect because my brother never left those instructions at all,” she said.
She expressed concern that the succession dispute had emerged before Oyo’s burial, saying the developments were preventing the royal family from mourning privately.
“It’s very unfortunate that we have not even buried my brother yet, and they’re bringing all this confusion and all this turmoil, and we can’t even mourn my brother in peace,” Komuntale said.
She appealed to Tooro subjects to remain calm while the royal family and Babiito continue discussions on the succession.
“My brother was a very peaceful and calm person, so please, just at least to honour him, please stop all this drama and this disunity,” she said.
Komuntale also urged the kingdom to remain united, saying the late king would be disappointed by the dispute surrounding his succession.
“Please, for the sake of my brother, for the love of God, let us stay peaceful and just stay united as we continue to progress and move forward in the decision making,” she said.
The dispute now places the interpretation of Oyo’s will and the authority of the various actors involved in the royal succession process at the centre of attention.
Oyo’s death has triggered a succession process involving the Babiito clan, members of the royal family and the kingdom’s established cultural institutions.
The competing positions emerging from Karuzika Palace on Wednesday suggest that further consultations will be required before a successor can command broad acceptance within the kingdom.
For now, Komuntale’s intervention indicates that the royal family does not regard Kijanangoma’s reported unveiling as a settled succession, setting the stage for further deliberations over who should occupy the Tooro throne.