Julie Mujungu: Self-professed Tooro ‘queen’ shoved into limelight amid succession debate

A woman identified as Julie K Mujungu has been drawn into the dispute over the succession of the late Tooro King Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV.

The attention follows unverified claims that Mujungu had a son with King Oyo. The boy, whose name has been withheld because he is a minor, is alleged to be 10 years old.

Turkey-based Ugandan blogger Fred Lumbuye made the allegations. He claimed that Mujungu had the child while she was a teenager.

Lumbuye also alleged that Mujungu stayed at the King’s Buziga residence for a short period before she was forced to leave the country. He said the child now studies in Uganda.

The blogger attributed the information to an unnamed person whom he described as close to Mujungu. He claimed that she did not seek to have the boy installed as King but wanted justice.

Lumbuye also circulated photographs of the child and pointed to what he described as a resemblance to King Oyo. However, physical resemblance cannot prove paternity.

The claims have not been supported by DNA results, official documents or a statement from the Tooro Royal Family. Mujungu has also not publicly confirmed that King Oyo fathered her son.

Her social media history has, however, fuelled the debate.

For months, Mujungu posted messages expressing affection for King Oyo. She also entertained comments suggesting that she could become his wife.

On February 24, Mujungu shared a video of herself walking through a car park and captioned it: “Tooro Print: Omugo to be.”

Omugo is the title given to the wife of the Tooro King.

During her birthday celebrations on April 14, she wrote on Instagram: “Life is so private that some Batooro don’t know that after the queen’s birthday, it is the king’s tomorrow.”

Other posts carried the phrase “Tooro queen”. She also liked comments that referred to her as Omugo.

After King Oyo’s death, Mujungu shared his photograph and described the loss as “the worst heartbreak”.

However, she rejected a comment that described the King as her husband. “Not my husband,” she wrote.

Tooro kingdom continues to faces competing claims about whether King Oyo left an heir. President Yoweri Museveni said Queen Mother Best Kemigisa Akiiki had told him that the King left a young boy who would be introduced at the right time.

Some members of the Babiito Royal Clan have challenged that account, saying they had no knowledge of such a child.