The late Omukama of Tooro, Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV, will be laid to rest on September 12, exactly 31 years after he was crowned king.
The decision means the kingdom will mark what would have been the anniversary of his accession to the throne with his burial – turning a day traditionally associated with celebration into one of mourning.
The Omukama ascended the Tooro throne on September 12, 1995, aged just three, following the death of his father, Patrick Olimi Kaboyo III.
His reign lasted more than three decades and was marked by efforts to preserve the traditions of the kingdom while promoting its cultural, social and economic development.
The burial arrangements were announced on Wednesday by Charles Kamurasi, head of the royal clan, during a meeting with Tooro clan heads at the royal palace in Karisika, Fort Portal.
Kamurasi said the king’s body will be flown from Entebbe to Fort Portal on Friday morning.
He said there had been attempts to have the body taken to another location to allow members of the public to view it, but the royal family had decided that it would remain at the royal palace.
The arrangements also include a rare protocol for President Yoweri Museveni. Kamurasi said Museveni will be the only person permitted to pay his respects to the King at Entebbe, following a request by the President.
He said Museveni, as head of state and one of the regents who participated in raising Oyo, would be accorded the honour of paying his respects when the body arrives.
But Tooro Kingdom prime minister Calvin Armstrong Rwomire gave a different account of the King’s journey from Entebbe.
Rwomire said that after Museveni pays his respects, the body will be transported by road to Kyegegwa district, where a procession will accompany the casket on its final journey to the royal palace in Fort Portal.
The procession is expected to mark the beginning of a series of traditional and official funeral rites leading to the king’s burial on September 12.