Uganda’s government has halted the gazettement of Prince Edward Rukidi Kijanangoma as the new King of Tooro, deepening a dispute over the rightful successor to the late King Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV.
In a legal opinion submitted to President Yoweri Museveni, Attorney General Sam Mayanja said the government would not publish Kijanangoma’s name in the national gazette as Omukama of Tooro until the succession dispute is resolved.
Mayanja cited King Oyo’s will, dated September 15, 2022, in which the late monarch stated that if he died with a lawfully recognised biological son, the son would become his heir in accordance with the law and Tooro customs.
The Babiito Royal Clan has dismissed the Attorney General’s opinion on the Tooro succession dispute, saying the letter was not addressed to the clan and therefore remains only an opinion.#NTVNews
— NTV UGANDA (@ntvuganda) September 15, 2026
More: https://t.co/7YCMjYKYKl pic.twitter.com/rr2qlsHRdl
“I hereby declare and direct that if at the date of my death I am survived by a son, lawfully recognised as my biological son, I appoint him as my heir to the Kingdom of Tooro,” the will states.
The Attorney General also said the will remains relevant in determining Oyo’s successor, noting that its validity could only be challenged in court.
“King Oyo’s will should be followed. Its validity can only be challenged in the court of law,” Mayanja wrote.
He said the declaration by elders of the Babiito clan, who selected Kijanangoma as Oyo’s successor, did not by itself settle the matter because the decision remains contested.
The development comes days after Kijanangoma, a news anchor and editor at Uganda Broadcasting Corporation and a cousin of the late king, was declared the new monarch following Oyo’s death.
Oyo, who ascended the Tooro throne aged three in 1995, died on August 27 at the age of 34 while receiving cancer treatment in the United States. He was buried at the Karambi Royal Tombs on Saturday, September 12.
His succession has been disputed by members of his immediate family, including his sister, Princess Ruth Nsemere Komuntale, and their mother, Queen Mother Best Kemigisa.
The family has maintained that Oyo left a will providing for his biological son to succeed him. The alleged existence of the son has become the central issue in the succession dispute, although his identity has not been publicly established.
However, Rev Fr Charles Oyo, a member of the Babiito clan, dismissed the Attorney General’s opinion, saying it was directed to the President and did not address the clan.
“What should be very clear is that the Attorney General did not give the opinion to us, so that opinion is specific to the President,” he said, adding that there were no conflicts within the clan.
The latest position leaves Kijanangoma as king-designate but without the government gazettement required for formal state recognition.
The dispute has cast uncertainty over the future leadership of one of Uganda’s traditional kingdoms, with the government now expected to weigh the competing legal and customary claims before making a final decision.
Although Uganda’s traditional kingdoms do not exercise constitutional political power, they remain important cultural institutions, making the succession dispute a matter of significant public interest.