Prince Edward Rukidi Kijanangoma, a familiar face to Ugandans as a longtime news anchor, is set to be crowned king of the Tooro kingdom, capping a succession dispute that erupted the moment his predecessor died and only partially settled by the time King Oyo Nyimba was buried two weeks ago.
Oyo, who became the world’s youngest reigning monarch when he was crowned at age three in 1995, died on 27 August in the United States, where he had been receiving cancer treatment. He was 34, and had reigned for 31 years. Tradition dictates that a recognised son of the late king should inherit the throne, and Oyo’s family said his will named an as-yet-unrevealed son as heir. The 21-member Babiito clan committee responsible for choosing the king said that son had never been presented to them for verification, and selected Kijanangoma — Oyo’s cousin — instead.
The dispute turned bitter fast. Oyo’s mother, Queen Best Kemigisa, said the clan’s announcement came the same evening his will was read to the family, while his body still lay at the palace, and accused the committee of ignoring his explicit written instructions. The will itself, dated September 2022, stated plainly: if Oyo was survived by “a son lawfully recognised as my biological son,” that son would inherit the throne.
Kemigisa said security forces surrounded the palace afterward and that family members were prevented from moving freely. She had raised the same objection once before — in 1995, when relatives argued the three-year-old Oyo was too young to rule and tried to install his uncle instead; that dispute also went to court, and Oyo prevailed.
Oyo was buried on 13 September at the Karambi Royal Tombs in Fort Portal — 31 years to the day after his own coronation. Kijanangoma cast nine coffee berries into the grave, a ritual marking the formal transfer of power. His sister, Princess Ruth Komuntale, eulogised him as someone who “never completely lost the young boy who loved to have fun” despite carrying responsibilities “far beyond what most people ever experience.” The Archbishop of the Church of Uganda, Stephen Kazimba Mugalu, used the funeral to appeal for calm: “Words spoken in grief can cause pain, division and conflict. It can even destroy the legacy of the king we are mourning.”
One detail from Oyo’s reign rarely makes it into his obituaries: Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi maintained a close personal relationship with the Tooro royal family for years, making multiple trips to Uganda, naming himself a special adviser to the young king, and funding renovations to the royal palace before his own death in 2011.
Kijanangoma, 56, graduated from Makerere University with a mass communications degree and spent more than two decades as a broadcaster, including years at Uganda’s state broadcaster UBC, before his selection. He has promised to keep the palace “open to the people” and lead with unity, telling supporters: “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.” President Yoweri Museveni’s government, which restored Uganda’s traditional kingdoms in the 1990s after they were abolished in 1967, backed the Babiito clan’s choice; Museveni is expected to attend the coronation.
Tooro’s monarchy carries no constitutional political power — Uganda is governed as a republic — but the kingdom’s king inherits a real estate portfolio, including land holdings and government cash payouts, along with the cultural authority that has made Tooro’s throne worth fighting over twice in three decades. Afrikeye continues to track political and traditional leadership stories across Africa.
