Prince Kamurasi rejected throne over 'responsibilities' - Succession Committee

Prince George Desmond Kamurasi declined the Tooro throne because of personal responsibilities that made him unable to take up the role, according to the Royal Succession Committee.

Fr Dr Charles Oyo, a member of the 21-member committee, said the Babiito clan had ranked candidates after vetting them before approaching them individually about taking over from the late King Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV.

Prince Kamurasi was picked as the first choice, but according to the committee, he turned down the call citing personal reasons.

Fr Oyo said Prince Kamurasi, a UK-based footballer, explained that he could not commit to the responsibilities that come with being King of Tooro.

“After vetting the candidates, we numbered them. We had priority 1, priority 2 and priority 3,” Fr Oyo said.

“After that, we vetted them and we engaged them one by one. The first one said, ‘No, I have responsibilities and I am not able to be king. The next one; good enough accepted the responsibility and we gave him the opportunity to be our next king,” he added.

Prince Kamurasi had earlier emerged as the preferred candidate of the Royal Succession Committee after the death of King Oyo, who passed away on August 27, 2026, aged 34.

His decision to decline the throne forced the Babiito clan to revisit the succession arrangements before selecting Prince Edward Rukidi Kijanangoma as the next King of Tooro.

Prince Edward, a former Uganda Broadcasting Corporation (UBC) presenter, is the son of the late Prince Christopher Paul Kijanangoma and grandson of Omukama Sir George David Rukidi Kamurasi III.

The Babiito clan said it relied on traditional succession arrangements and provisions in the will of the late King Patrick David Matthew Olimi Kaboyo II when choosing the new king.