The Tooro royal family is mourning again.
Prince David Kijanangoma Araali, elder brother of the newly installed King Edward Rukidi Kijanangoma Nyabongo I, has died after a prolonged battle with throat cancer.
Kijanangoma died Tuesday at the Uganda Cancer Institute in Mulago, where he had been receiving treatment. His death was confirmed by Tooro Kingdom spokesperson Vincent Mugume. Reports from Uganda Radio Network indicate that the prince had been battling Stage Three throat cancer for more than a year.
His death comes at an extraordinary moment for the Babiito royal family.
Just three days earlier, his younger brother, Prince Edward Rukidi Kijanangoma, had formally taken the Tooro throne following the death of their cousin, King Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV.
Edward’s ascension came during Oyo’s burial at the Karambi Royal Tombs in Fort Portal on September 12, bringing to a close one chapter of the kingdom’s history while opening another marked by unresolved questions over succession.
Now, the new king must mourn the death of his elder brother while carrying the weight of a throne that has barely had time to settle.
A prince who once stood against the king
David Kijanangoma’s place in Tooro’s recent history was unusual.
He was not merely a member of the royal family. He was once one of the most prominent challengers to King Oyo’s reign.
In 2015, Kijanangoma publicly questioned his cousin’s leadership and eventually declared himself King of Tooro, triggering one of the most dramatic disputes within the kingdom in recent decades.
The confrontation became a public affair, with Kijanangoma arrested and the rival claim eventually finding its way into court.
At the height of the dispute, the prince openly announced his intention to take over the throne, arguing that Tooro needed stronger leadership.
The confrontation placed two members of the same royal family on opposite sides of a battle over the future of the kingdom.
But the feud did not last forever.
In 2019, Kijanangoma publicly declared peace with Oyo, bringing an extraordinary chapter in their relationship to an end.
The prince who had once challenged his cousin’s throne had become, once again, part of the royal family surrounding the king.
From rival to relative of the new king
There is now another striking twist to Kijanangoma’s story.
The man who has inherited the throne is his own younger brother.
Prince Edward Rukidi Kijanangoma was selected by the Babiito royal clan to succeed Oyo after a succession process involving a 21-member committee that assessed potential candidates from the royal family.
Edward was formally declared the new Omukama during the funeral rites for Oyo.
The succession, however, has been contested.
Oyo’s sister, Princess Ruth Komuntale, and members of his immediate family have argued that the late king left a will naming a son as his heir. The claim has created a dispute over whether the traditional clan selection of Edward should stand. Reuters reported that the identity and status of the alleged heir have remained central to the controversy surrounding the succession.
Against that background, David’s death adds another layer of grief to an already unsettled royal household.
A battle with cancer
Kijanangoma’s final months were marked by illness rather than royal politics.
Earlier this year, his family and friends appealed publicly for financial assistance to help finance his treatment.
Reports said he had been battling Stage Three throat cancer for more than a year and had exhausted much of his personal savings on treatment in Uganda. His family reportedly sought about Shs700 million to facilitate specialised treatment in India.
He continued receiving treatment at the Uganda Cancer Institute before his condition deteriorated.
His death therefore comes after a prolonged struggle with the disease and after a period in which members of the public had rallied around the prince’s treatment.
Another loss for Tooro
The timing of Kijanangoma’s death is particularly painful.
Tooro has barely emerged from the mourning of King Oyo.
Oyo died in the United States on August 27, aged 34, after battling cancer. He had ascended the Tooro throne as a three-year-old in 1995 and remained one of Uganda’s most recognisable traditional leaders for more than three decades.
His funeral on September 12 brought thousands of mourners to Fort Portal and formally ushered in his successor.
But the succession has been accompanied by disagreements within the royal family, making the transition one of the most consequential in modern Tooro history.
Now another royal prince is gone.
For the new King Edward Rukidi Kijanangoma, the loss is deeply personal. He has inherited the crown at a moment of uncertainty and, only days into his reign, must confront the death of the brother who was once at the centre of Tooro’s own succession history.
David Kijanangoma’s life reflected many of the tensions that have shaped the kingdom in recent years: tradition and modernity, family and authority, loyalty and dissent.
He challenged a king.
He reconciled with him.
And in the final chapter of his life, his younger brother became king.
His death closes the story of a prince whose name became inseparable from the turbulent history of the Tooro throne.
As the kingdom mourns, attention will now turn to the funeral arrangements and to a royal family being forced to grieve yet another loss before it has fully recovered from the death of King Oyo.
