Pastor Kayanja says divine intervention is needed after speaking to Queen Mother Best Kemigisa

Pastor Robert Kayanja, has called for prayer and divine intervention for Queen Mother Best Kemigisa and Tooro Kingdom following the death of King Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV.

Kayanja said he had spoken to the Queen Mother by telephone for four consecutive days, including on the day of his passing and on Friday night.shortly before addressing worshippers at Miracle Centre Cathedral.

The queen mother, he said, was bearing “too much for anyone to handle.”

Pastor Kayanja, a close friend of the Tooro royals, described King Oyo’s death at 34 as a devastating loss to Tooro, Uganda and the Christian community.

“Yesterday, the whole world was shocked. Not only Uganda, not only the people of Tooro, not only the body of Christ, but the whole world, by the news of the passing of King Oyo, just 34 years old,” Kayanja said.

“We saw him being born, some of us; we saw him rise to the throne because of the tragic passing of his dad. It is so sad.”

Kayanja extended condolences to Queen Mother Kemigisa, Princess Ruth Komuntale, the royal family and the people of Tooro.

King Oyo died at about 10pm on Thursday, August 27, 2026, while receiving medical care in the United States. The cause of his death has not been officially disclosed.

Kayanja said the monarch had maintained a close relationship with Miracle Centre Cathedral and visited the church several times.

“King Oyo used to come here frequently. In fact, he wrote his first speech and read it here when he was just 14 years old,” he said.

The King also attended school with Pastor Kanyanja’s children, including Robert Kayanja Jr and his younger twins.

Kayanja remembered Oyo as a calm, disciplined and devout Christian who avoided public conflict.

“If you met him, he was a gentleman of gentlemen, well disciplined and a born-again believer,” he said.

“Often you hear us quarrel, but I never heard the King quarrel with anyone. It is a shock.”

Urging the churchgoers to lift the royal family in prayer, Kayanja said the Queen Mother needed spiritual and emotional support after losing the son she had raised from childhood to become one of Africa’s most recognisable monarchs.

“This is too much for anybody to bear,” he said. “The devil has stolen from us. We need to pray for Tooro so that they remain one,” Kayanja said.

Years ago, Queen Mother Kemigisa attended a church service at Kayanjas church where she recounted the tragedies she endured during the 1990s.

Kemigisa spoke about losing her husband, King Patrick David Matthew Kaboyo Rwamuhokya Olimi III, and her youngest daughter, Princess Celia Komukyeya.

She said she was in London seeking treatment for her daughter when her husband returned to Tooro and died.

“When I had my firstborn and later the King, we were transferred to Cuba. While I was in Cuba, I had my lastborn, who died of leukaemia,” she said.

“Before my daughter died, my husband, the King, died. And I was only 26. When we were treating my daughter in London, the King came back to Tooro, and then he died while I was treating my daughter.”

King Olimi III died on August 26, 1995. His death forced the three-year-old Prince Oyo to take the throne on September 12 of the same year.

Princess Celia died from leukaemia in October 1997 at the age of four, according to contemporary reports.

Kemigisa recalled struggling to understand how she would raise the young King and his elder sister, Princess Komuntale, while grieving her husband and youngest child.

“I thought my world was ending. How was I to raise the young King and the Princess? And then, after one year, my Princess died,” she said.

She said prayer became her refuge during that difficult period.

“What I did, I used to hide myself and pray. I prayed and prayed, and God started promoting me. God did a lot,” she said.

Kemigisa also credited President Yoweri Museveni and First Lady Janet Museveni with encouraging her to return and settle in Uganda.

“I remember I was invited by the President and First Lady to Rwakitura, and they encouraged me to come back and settle in Uganda, and the struggle continued,” she said.

Queen Mother Kemigisa later served as one of the regents who guided King Oyo and helped manage kingdom affairs until he reached adulthood in 2010.

Her son’s death leaves her facing another major family loss more than three decades after she became a widow.

King Oyo ruled Tooro for nearly 31 years. Tooro officials have said he left behind a Prince as his heir, whose identity will be revealed according to the kingdom’s customs.