Tooro Prime Minister calls for postponement of King enthronement, Government security intervention

Tooro Kingdom Prime Minister Calvin Armstrong Rwomiire Akiiki has called for the postponement of the planned enthronement of a new king, urging the government to help calm tensions following disagreements over the succession of the late King Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV.

His call followed the Babiito Royal Clan announcement of Prince Edward Rukidi Kijanangoma as the successor to King Oyo, a decision rejected by members of the late king’s family, including his sister Princess Ruth Komuntale.

Komuntale and other royal family members have argued that King Oyo left a will naming his son as heir to the throne and questioned why a new king was announced before the document was fully reviewed.

In a statement titled “An Appeal for Peace and Unity in Tooro”, Prime Minister Calvin said succession matters should be handled after the burial of King Oyo, whose body is yet to be laid to rest.

He appealed to all parties to avoid confrontation and allow cultural and legal processes to guide the next steps.

Below is his statement in full:

AN APPEAL FOR PEACE AND UNITY IN TOORO

People of Tooro, our leaders, friends of Tooro and fellow Ugandans,

We are living through one of the most painful and delicate moments in the history of our Kingdom.

His Majesty Omukama Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV has passed away, and even before we have laid our King to rest, sharply differing positions have emerged regarding succession to the Crown of Tooro.

On one hand, a group has announced a new King. On the other, there is a Will left by the late Omukama containing his expressed wishes regarding succession.

These are serious matters that must ultimately be addressed. But as Batooro, we must ask whether this is the right moment, and whether the manner in which this is unfolding honours the King whose body we have not yet laid to rest.

Whatever our positions or interpretations of Tooro’s customs and institutions, there must remain a minimum standard of moral decency.

Let us first bury our King.

The Crown of Tooro has existed for generations and will endure long after all of us. Nothing is so urgent that we must sacrifice the dignity of His Majesty’s final journey, the grief of the Royal Family, the unity of our people or the peace of our Kingdom to settle it now.

There will be time to examine the Will, to hear those advancing a different position, and to consider our customs, the applicable law and the proper institutions through which succession should be determined. That process should take place calmly and credibly, not through competing announcements, confrontation, or attempts to establish facts on the ground while our King still awaits burial.

I therefore appeal to everyone involved, regardless of the position they support, to exercise restraint. Tooro is bigger than any one of us, and the Crown is too important to become the prize in a contest conducted in the middle of our mourning.

I also respectfully appeal to the Government of Uganda to provide appropriate guidance and support to ensure that peace, order and sanity prevail during this sensitive period.

This is not a request for Government to choose a King for Tooro. It is an appeal to help protect the conditions within which the relevant cultural, legal and institutional processes can take place peacefully, fairly and without intimidation or disorder. Where necessary, respected elders, cultural leaders and other credible persons should also help guide an orderly way forward.

My appeal is simple: lower the temperature.

We can disagree without destroying one another. We can defend our positions without insensitive language. We can seek the truth without abandoning our culture, dignity and humanity.

History will remember not only how the succession question was resolved, but also how we behaved when our King died.

Let it record that, in a moment of grief and disagreement, the people of Tooro chose restraint, our leaders chose wisdom over confrontation, and we gave His Majesty the dignity of resting in peace before turning to the future of his Crown.

For now, let us mourn together. Let us bury our King with honour. Then, with dignity, fairness and respect, let the truth and the proper process guide what comes next.

In whatever we do, Tooro must come first.