Tooro chief prince insists King Oyo left no heir; options explored in Rukidi lineage

Tooro Chief Prince Charles Kamurasi Akiiki has rejected claims that the late King Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV left a child to inherit the throne.

Kamurasi, the Omusuuga and head of the Babiito royal clan, said the Royal Family knew nothing about the reported heir.

“The King had no child. I don’t know about it because we have never been told that,” Kamurasi said.

His position contradicts statements from Tooro Kingdom Prime Minister Calvin Armstrong Rwomiire Akiiki and President Yoweri Museveni.

Rwomiire announced King Oyo’s death on August 27, 2026, and said the monarch had left a prince as his heir. He said the kingdom would reveal the heir’s identity at the right time under Tooro customs.

Museveni supported that account on August 29. He said Queen Mother Best Kemigisa had told him during a telephone call that King Oyo left a young boy heir.

Kamurasi questioned where Rwomiire obtained the information. He also argued that the prime minister lacked the customary authority to announce an heir.

“I heard the prime minister, while announcing Oyo’s death, saying he had left an heir. I don’t know where he got that information from,” Kamurasi said.

“Moreover, he has no right or power to make such an announcement because he is not a member of the Royal Family,” he added.

The conflicting accounts have created uncertainty as the kingdom starts the process of choosing King Oyo’s successor.

Asked in an interview about the new King, the Omusuuga said the ruling clan will explore other options from the lineage of Omukama Rukidi III.

“What will happen now is that we shall go back to the Rikidi lineage and those issues have to be sorted out by the clan,” he said.

Omukama Rukidi III is the grandfather of King Oyo Nyimba, He reigned over Tooro between 1921 and 1965

The Omusuuga holds a central position during a vacancy on the throne. He heads the Babiito clan, Tooro’s ruling royal house.

Under Tooro customs, his office takes charge of the cultural processes that follow the death of a king. These include funeral rites, burial preparations and succession.

The Omusuuga convenes and chairs meetings linked to the funeral. He also oversees the process of identifying and installing a new king from beginning to end.

A statement from his office said all kingdom bodies involved in the funeral and succession must work under his authority. 

Kamurasi now leads a 21-member committee of Babiito elders formed to handle the succession.

The committee will identify the successor, announce the choice to relevant stakeholders and prepare the required rituals and ceremonies. The Babiito maintain that succession remains a cultural matter under the authority of the Omusuuga. 

The conflicting claims do not settle who will become the next King. Under the announced process, that authority rests with the succession committee led by Kamurasi.

King Oyo died in the United States aged 34. He had ruled Tooro since 1995, when he ascended the throne at the age of three following the death of his father.