President Yoweri Museveni has directed that the late Tooro monarch, Omukama Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV, be accorded an official burial and three days of national mourning.
Oyo, who died aged 34 on Thursday after battling cancer, will be honoured with national flags flown at half-mast on the day before his burial, the burial day and the day after.
In a message mourning the monarch, Museveni described Oyo’s death as a major loss to Tooro and Uganda, saying the young King had shown potential to work with both the Central and local governments to promote development in the kingdom.
Museveni also expressed relief that Oyo left behind a young son, who he said would be introduced to the public as his heir at an appropriate time.
The President said the information about the heir was conveyed to him by Oyo’s mother, Best Kemigisa, the Nyinomukama of Tooro, who had earlier informed him that the King was battling an aggressive form of cancer.
Museveni said the government supported the royal family in seeking medical treatment for Oyo, first in Germany and later in the United States, where he died.
He praised Oyo for working closely with the Central Government and for avoiding what he described as the misuse of restored cultural institutions to promote sectarianism.
“H.H. Oyo worked well with the Central Government, thereby avoiding the mistake of trying to use the Cultural Institutions that were restored by the NRM to promote sectarianism,” Museveni said.
He urged other cultural leaders to adopt the same approach and use their institutions to promote development and unity.
Museveni extended condolences, on behalf of himself, First Lady Janet Museveni and the people of Uganda, to the Tooro royal family and the people of the kingdom.
He described Oyo as a prominent “Muzzukulu” and expressed sadness that the monarch died at such a young age, having himself lost his parents while still young.
“How unfair life can be! He was orphaned while still young, and he has died young,” Museveni said.
Oyo ascended the Tooro throne in 1995 at the age of three following the death of his father, Omukama Patrick Matthew Kaboyo Olimi III.