Tooro’s Queen Mother, Best Kemigisa, has revealed that her late son, King Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV, left behind a son living in Texas, saying the child was not brought to Uganda for his father’s burial because of concerns over the kingdom’s succession dispute.
Kemigisa made the revelation while thanking mourners and supporters who stood with the royal family following Oyo’s death and burial. Her remarks add a new dimension to the succession controversy that emerged after the king died in the United States on August 27, aged 34.
The Queen Mother said the family had initially planned for Oyo’s child to travel to Uganda with them from Texas and attend his father’s final rites.
“Before leaving Texas, our family had hoped that King Oyo’s child would return on the same plane with us,” Kemigisa said.
She said those plans changed as tensions surrounding the succession intensified, with the family ultimately deciding that the child should remain in the United States.
“Concerns grew about bringing a child into a tense and polarised succession dispute. Ultimately, the child did not return with us,” she said.
Kemigisa said the decision was painful but argued that the child should not be exposed to hostility arising from disagreements over who should succeed his father.
Queen Mother Questions Timing of Succession
Kemigisa also criticised the speed with which the succession process unfolded after Oyo’s death.
She said her priority had been to give the royal family and the people of Tooro time to mourn before beginning discussions over the next king.
“Throughout this painful period, I had one simple wish: let us first bury my son peacefully and with dignity. Let a mother mourn her child. Let Tooro mourn its King,” she said.
According to Kemigisa, a succession committee was formed only hours after Oyo’s death, while his body was still being prepared for return to Uganda.
“Only hours after my son’s death, a committee was started to choose a new king. While my son’s body was still making its journey home to Tooro, a new king was announced,” she said.
The succession process subsequently produced competing claims and announcements. A Royal Succession Committee selected George Desmond Kamurasi in early September, while Prince Edward Rukidi Kijanangoma was later announced by the Babiito royal clan as Oyo’s successor under the regnal name Edward Rukidi Nyabongo I.
The dispute has centred partly on competing interpretations of Tooro customary succession practices and the significance of an alleged will by Oyo. Public reporting has also documented disagreements over claims that Oyo left a biological son who could have a role in the succession.
‘Celebrations’ Near Oyo’s Body
Kemigisa said the events surrounding the succession were particularly distressing during the period when Oyo’s body lay at Karuziika Palace awaiting burial.
She recalled what she described as loud celebrations taking place close to where her son’s body lay.
“As a mother, that was extraordinarily painful,” she said.
Despite her criticism of the succession process, Kemigisa called for restraint and said she did not want the dispute to define Tooro’s future.
“But today, I do not want anger to have the final word. I want gratitude, faith, hope and service to have the final word,” she said.
Building Oyo’s Legacy
Kemigisa said she and her daughter, Princess Ruth Komuntale, would focus on preserving Oyo’s legacy through the King Oyo Memorial Foundation.
Among the proposed initiatives are a museum dedicated to the late king, an international stadium, a teaching and research hospital and a model farm.
Oyo, who became king at the age of three in 1995, ruled Tooro for more than three decades. His death brought to an end one of the longest modern reigns among Uganda’s traditional monarchs.
The latest revelation about his son is likely to keep attention focused on the unresolved questions surrounding Tooro’s succession, particularly the status of the child and how the royal clan and kingdom institutions interpret the rules governing the throne.
