The death of King Oyo was supposed to unite Toro in mourning. Instead, it has split Karuzika Palace into two camps, and now the war is in the open.
Members of the immediate royal family, the people who lived with Oyo, not the clan elders who visit during Empango have rejected the announcement by the Babiito Clan succession committee naming Prince Edward Rukidi Kijanangoma as the new Omukama.
This is not gossip. This is a full family revolt.
The most painful rejection has come from the Queen Mother herself, Best Kemigisa. In a letter dated 10th September 2026, written while her son’s body was still lying in the palace, she describes what is happening as a second fight for her son’s right to dignity.
She reminds Toro of her own history. She was 26, in the UK treating her sick two-year-old daughter Cecilia, when her husband Omukama Patrick died. She came home to bury her husband, and instead had to fight for her 3-year-old son Oyo to become king because some clan leaders said he was too young at 3 years to be king and that his father’s will meant nothing. She went to court. Her son, King Oyo, prevailed.
She lost her daughter Cecilia to leukemia years later. She says by God’s grace, her son went on to serve Toro for 31 years, and the people loved him and built the kingdom with him.
On 27th August, she lost her only son to cancer. She says the President did everything to bring him home to Toro with dignity, the UPDF engineering brigade built the royal grave and roads to the tombs. She thanked the CDF.
Then, she says, before they could even reach Fort Portal from Kampala, a group led by Andrew Mwenda announced a self-appointed clan group had chosen another King. Not one of them called to say sorry for the loss or ask about Oyo’s will.
Three days to her son’s burial, she says troops came to the palace and removed the royal guards without notice. The Musuuga, the traditional prime minister was taken away to an unknown location. At 4pm, Oyo’s will was read before representatives of the Royal Family and Government, including the Musuuga, Princess Komuntale, Princess Margaret Komuhubu, Father Oyo, Monsignor Father Mayombo, and General Henry Tumukunde representing the President. The will, she says, clearly set out the order of succession. They agreed to meet the next day.
But that same evening, while her son’s body was still lying next to them, the same clan members held a press conference and declared their own King, disregarding the Will and the agreement.
“They could have done this anywhere else. Instead, they chose to jubilate while my son was still lying in his casket next to them. This is what has hurt us most. My daughter is devastated. Our family is grieving,” her letter reads.
She says with security deployed around the palace, they cannot receive mourners freely. They are under house arrest. She appeals to General Kayanja Muhanga, UPDF leadership, and the President to allow the family freedom and dignity to bury King Oyo in peace.
This is not a normal letter. This is a mother who buried a husband at 26, buried a daughter, and now is burying her only son — telling the world to let her grieve.
She is not alone.
Princess Ruth Komuntale, Oyo’s sister, has also broken her silence, and she is using language that will shock Toro. She says Oyo left behind an heir. She says she does not want what she calls evil vultures to come and steal what he worked so hard for. Her message: Let’s grieve in peace, stop this stupid drama. Stop it.
Princess Elizabeth Bagaya, the 90-year-old Batebe of Toro, the most respected living princess who raised Oyo from age 3, has also aligned herself with the immediate family, rejecting the hurried election.
What does this mean? This is deeper than politics.
In Toro, there are two laws. There is the clan law, the Babiito clan elects the king. And there is the father’s will, the Omukama names his successor. For 30 years, Oyo balanced both. He was elected by the Babiito, but he was also named in his father’s will. Now those two laws are colliding.
The Babiito succession committee says: We have elected Edward Kijanangoma, son of Prince Christopher Kijanangoma, grandson of Rukidi III. He is legitimate blood. The throne cannot stay empty.
The Queen Mother and the Sister say: There is a Will. Read on 9th September in front of government. It names the order. You cannot jubilate over a casket.
For the ordinary Mutooro, this is confusing and heartbreaking. They loved Oyo. They saw him grow from a boy king in oversized robes to a mature man. They want to bury him first. They are asking, why the rush? Why announce a new king when the old king’s body is still warm in Karuzika?
For the elite Ugandan watching from Kampala, this looks familiar. It looks like every succession battle in Buganda, Bunyoro, and Busoga where land, money, and access to State House are more important than culture. Who controls Karuzika controls kingdom property, kingdom shares in tea estates, and kingdom political influence ahead of 2026 elections.
The involvement of security is what should worry everyone. If the Queen Mother says royal guards were removed and troops deployed, and that the family is under house arrest, then this is no longer a cultural matter. It is a security matter.
Toro has a journalist king-elect. But it also has a grieving mother who says her family cannot even receive mourners.
You cannot crown a king while gagging a queen mother.
The burial of Oyo must come first. The Will must be respected. And the Babiito must sit with the immediate family, not in a hotel, not in a press conference, but inside Karuzika and agree.
Because if they don’t, Toro will have two kings. One elected by the clan, one named in the will. And a kingdom with two kings is not a kingdom at all.
