King Oyo succession: Tooro Chief Prince summons emergency meeting at Karuziika palace

• Tooro Chief Prince Charles Kamurasi has called an emergency royal meeting.

• Princes, princesses and other members of the royal family must attend.

• Tooro Kingdom says King Oyo left behind a Prince as his heir.

• The kingdom has started nine days of mourning for King Oyo.

Tooro Chief Prince (Omusuga) Charles Kamurasi has summoned members of the royal family to an emergency meeting at Karuziika Palace following the death of King Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV.

Kamurasi announced through local media that the meeting would take place at the palace on Friday, August 28, 2026 at 11:00.

He summoned the Ababiito and Ababiitokati (the princes and princesses) as well as the Abeihwa, who include the King’s nieces, nephews and grandchildren.

The agenda of the closed meeting remains undisclosed. However, it comes amid public attention on the succession process after the kingdom announced that King Oyo had left an heir.

A Kamurasi is the Omusuga, formally known as the Omujwera Omusuga. He heads the Babiito royal clan, also known as the Ababoyo, and serves as Tooro’s Chief Prince.

His position gives him an important role in the kingdom’s royal affairs, particularly during the installation of a new Omukama.

Tooro Kingdom Prime Minister Calvin Armstrong Rwomiire Akiiki while announcing King Oyo’s death on Thursday night, assured the Abatooro that the Crown would continue because King Oyo had left behind a Prince.

“The continuity of the Crown is assured. His Majesty leaves behind a Prince as his heir, whose identity will be formally revealed at the appropriate time, in accordance with the traditions and customs of Tooro Kingdom,” Rwomiire said.

The identity of the Prince had not been disclosed to the public by Friday morning.

Under Tooro tradition, the Omusuga conducts a spiritual test to establish whether the selected Prince has true royal blood. He calls upon the ancestral gods to strike the Prince dead if he does not belong to the royal lineage.

Only after passing the test can the Prince sound the sacred royal drums and proceed to be crowned Omukama.

The Omusuga also occupies a high protocol seat at the Royal Parlour, known as the Omusanga, during coronations and other palace ceremonies.

The kingdom has not indicated whether Friday’s meeting will discuss the heir or the succession process.

Meanwhile, Tooro has started nine days of mourning for King Oyo in line with the kingdom’s traditions.

King Oyo died aged 34 after ruling Tooro for nearly 31 years. He ascended the throne in September 1995 at the age of three following the death of his father, King Patrick David Matthew Kaboyo Rwamuhokya Olimi III.