Uganda Broadcasting Corporation (UBC) news anchor Prince Edward Rukidi Kijanangoma has been selected as the new Omukama of Tooro to succeed the late King Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV.
Kijanangoma’s selection was announced on Wednesday evening at Karuziika Palace by elders of the Babiito royal clan, which traces the lineage of the Tooro monarchy.
According to a statement from the office of the Omusuuga, the head of the Babiito royal clan, Kijanangoma was selected by a 21-member committee constituted by members of the clan to oversee the succession process following the death of King Oyo.
Oyo died in the United States on August 27, aged 34, after nearly three decades on the Tooro throne.
He became Omukama in September 1995 at the age of three, following the death of his father, King Patrick Matthew Kaboyo Olimi III.
Following Oyo’s death, the succession process quickly became contentious, with competing claims over who was constitutionally and traditionally entitled to inherit the throne.
The main dispute centred on reports that Oyo had left behind a biological son who could potentially qualify as heir under Tooro succession customs. The Babiito royal clan, however, said the purported heir had not been presented to the clan for verification, prompting criticism of Tooro Prime Minister Calvin Armstrong Rwomire and others who had spoken about the child.
The head of the Babiito clan, Omusuuga Charles Kamurasi, insisted that succession was a cultural matter under the authority of the royal clan.
Amid the uncertainty, the Babiito constituted a 21-member Royal Succession Committee to identify Oyo’s successor. The committee eventually fronted Prince George Desmond Kamurasi, 36, a London-based footballer and coach and a first cousin of the late king, reportedly securing 15 of the 18 votes cast by members present, according to veteran journalist Andrew Mwenda.
Kamurasi is the son of Prince George Desmond “Jimmy” Mugenyi, a younger brother of Oyo’s father, former King Patrick Matthew Kaboyo Olimi III.
However, reports soon emerged that Kamurasi had declined the selection amidst loyalists’ criticism over his detachment from the kingdom.
Oyo is scheduled to be buried on September 12.