King-elect’s wife to become queen, but children’s claim to Tooro throne remains uncertain

• Rebecca Amoding will become queen despite her Iteso background.

• Fr Oyo says maternal clan membership is central to succession.

• The September 29 coronation follows a disputed choice of successor.

• Tooro has budgeted about Shs1.2 billion for the ceremony.

Rebecca Amoding will become Tooro’s queen when her husband, Edward Rukidi Nyabongo I, takes the throne, but their children’s eligibility to succeed him will depend on the kingdom’s maternal clan rules.

Rev Fr Dr Charles Oyo, the Babiito Clan spokesman, said the king-elect’s marriage to Amoding, who is Iteso, does not breach Tooro custom. He said it does not make her a member of a Tooro clan or establish a claim to the throne for their children, The Observer reported.

“She will be like any other wife of the king,” Fr Oyo said at a press conference in Kampala on Thursday.

He said an heir must be born to a mother from one of Tooro’s recognised clans. He rejected suggestions that Amoding must be adopted into a local clan for her marriage to be recognised. Cultural initiation is possible, he said, but it may not resolve questions about succession.

Tooro plans to crown Nyabongo I on September 29, 2026, at Karuziika Palace in Fort Portal City. The Babiito Royal Clan selected him after the death of Omukama Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV. The Rukurato, the kingdom’s supreme council, endorsed the choice.

The succession remains disputed. Members of the late king’s family have raised questions about a reported son of Oyo and his possible claim to the throne.

Fr Oyo also said the Queen Mother ceases to hold an official palace role after her son’s death.

State minister for Culture Mary Kuteesa Kamuli said the Gender ministry was processing a Gazette notice to recognise Nyabongo I. She said the government would support the coronation, whose budget stands at about Shs1.2 billion. Fr Oyo declined to give figures for donations or the government’s contribution until he had verified them.